


Hansen Investigations

by hopefulminty



Series: Hansen Investigations [1]
Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Connor Murphy Lives (Dear Evan Hansen), Alternate Universe - Veronica Mars Fusion, F/F, F/M, Family, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Minor Character Death, Murder Mystery, Not a Crossover, Slow Burn, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 09:34:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 87,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14952152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopefulminty/pseuds/hopefulminty
Summary: The news coverage of Joey’s death had been relentless at first. Every aspect of the case had been analyzed and publicized in a way that made the Saturn sheriff’s department look like it was being run by a bunch of monkeys.Evan’s mother had been the sheriff at the time. He’d stood by and watched while her name was dragged through the mud again and again.Everyone had an opinion about how she had handled the case. Most people seemed to think she was wrong, morally wrong, to focus her investigation on the Murphy family.That hadn’t stopped her though. Evan didn’t know why. Even after everything they’d been through, he still didn’t know what had made her zero in on them the way she had. Part of him wondered if he ever would.In other words, an AU that has been inspired byVeronica Mars.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, the one good part of getting stuck in traffic today was that it gave me lots of time to figure out clues/red herrings for the _Veronica Mars_ -inspired fic I've been planning. I think I've worked out a good portion of the plot now, so I decided to go ahead and post the first chapter.
> 
> If you're familiar with _Veronica Mars_ , there will be some nods to it/moments where I've clearly taken a cue from the show, but this will definitely be its own thing. If anyone's wondering, the rape storyline from VM will not be included here.
> 
> Original characters from my previous stories (which are not connected to this fic) will be appearing here once again. Partially because I'm too lazy to come up with new ones, partially because I like them, and partially because this story needs to have a fairly large cast of characters/suspects.
> 
> This probably won't always be updated as frequently as my other stories. I have a new writing tumblr, also under this name (hopefulminty), where I will give updates on updates and issue warnings when I know I won't be posting for a bit after adding a chapter that ends with a cliffhanger.
> 
> More tags to be added later. Rated T for swearing and because this will touch on some sensitive topics, including suicide, anxiety, and underage drinking/drug use.

The lady’s foot wouldn’t stop twitching. It kept twitching and swinging and flopping around like a fish. It was like she was incapable of making it stop.

Evan knew he shouldn’t complain. He, of all people, knew what it was like to have a nervous tic that refused to go away.

It was annoying though. Annoying and distracting and he really had to stop letting things distract him. He’d already wasted enough time watching old Zoe and Joey videos.

He didn’t know why he was torturing himself with those. He needed to close the browser and focus on his spreadsheets. 

The door to his mother’s office creaked open. Evan glanced up long enough to watch her step out.

“You must be Mrs. Zeller,” Heidi greeted brightly.

“Priscilla, please,” the lady said quickly. “Mrs. Zeller is my mother-in-law.”

“Of course,” Heidi nodded. “Priscilla. My office is in here. We can-”

“Actually,” Priscilla interrupted shrilly. “Is there a bathroom in here? I would like a moment to, uh, freshen up.”

Heidi blinked and gestured down the hall. “Second door on the left.”

Evan glanced up again when he sensed his mother standing behind him. She waited to speak until they heard the bathroom door click shut.

“Evan,” Heidi breathed warningly.

“What?”

“We talked about this.”

“About...?”

Heidi put a hand on her hip and stared down at him. “You are the first thing people see when they come in here. That means you have to greet them, ask them if they want something to drink, not look at them like they’re in for a death sentence if they ask you where the bathroom is.”

Evan shrugged and tilted his head to study the screen. “You knew what you were getting when you asked me to work for you. It’s not like you hired me for my social skills.”

“No. I hired you because I can get away with paying you next to nothing.”

Evan caught her eye and grinned. “So, which one is she? The one with the ex who’s a deadbeat dad or the one who’s married to the guy with a hooker problem?”

Heidi glanced over her shoulder quickly and whispered, “Hooker.”

 

They ate their dinner in silence, which really wasn’t that unusual for them.

Evan still thought it felt weird to actually eat dinner with his mother on a regular basis though. He supposed that was one of the unexpected perks of their current situation.

He rubbed his forehead and looked away from the computer when he realized she was watching him. 

“Why don’t you take the car tomorrow?” Heidi suggested.

“Huh?”

Heidi sighed as she put the file down. “I was just thinking that would be better, wouldn’t it? I know you don’t want to take the bus and I know it’ll be even worse for you if I drop you off. The other kids...”

Evan nodded reluctantly. “How will you get to work then?”

“I’ll ask Maggie to pick me up. I’ll be fine as long as you get the car to me by four.”

“Stake-out?”

“The deadbeat dad,” Heidi nodded.

“Okay,” Evan decided. “I’ll take the car.”

 

Evan had to admit that it was a relief to know he wouldn’t have to deal with the bus the next day. It was an even bigger relief to know that he wouldn’t have to ask his mother to drop him off a couple blocks from school.

It wasn’t that he cared what his classmates said. It was just...

He didn’t care. Not really. Not anymore. 

He sure did miss the good old days when he was as good as invisible though.

He knew those days were long gone. They were gone even before Joey died.

Evan plugged his laptop in before climbing into bed. He stared at the ceiling and resisted the urge to grab his phone.

No more videos. No more news. No good could possibly come from reading the latest on the Joey Murphy case.

Sheriff Henderson had finally made an arrest. The public was eating it up. The media was going nuts over it.

Evan wondered if Zoe would write a song for the sheriff. It could be the follow-up to her smash hit _A Song for Joey_.

Evan stifled a groan as he rolled over. He didn’t want to think about that song. If he heard it one more time, he was going to...

He didn’t know what he’d do, but it wouldn’t be pretty.

Zoe’s song had taken over the world that summer. Or so it seemed to Evan.

He didn’t think that was a total exaggeration though. The radio station his mother insisted on playing in the office had called _A Song for Joey_ the official song of the summer.

Evan wasn’t sure if that was true, but they’d certainly done their part to make it so. Evan swore he’d heard the song every hour on the hour all summer long.

Getting over Zoe had been hard enough without the constant reminders that she was still out there hating him, hating his mother, hating her life.

Evan supposed this was his luck. He’d finally gotten a girlfriend. His dream girlfriend. The girl he’d been crushing on since freshman year. 

Of course, it wasn’t going to last. Of course, it was going to fall apart in the most horrific way he could imagine.

Of course, he was going to end up with an ex who seemed to be everywhere. He hadn’t been able to turn on a TV or open a magazine or look at a news site in months without seeing something about Zoe or her family. 

Evan had tried his best to ignore the news, but that wasn’t always possible. He knew Zoe had gone on all the talk shows. Or most of them, at any rate. He’d seen the clips, he’d watched the interviews.

He knew she’d gone on TV and daintily cried while she talked about her brother’s death and the investigation into it and the hell that her life had become.

People had eaten that up. It was like they couldn’t get enough of the story. It seemed that way in Saturn at least. Their town had become completely enraptured by the Murphy family’s saga.

Evan supposed that shouldn’t be a surprise. Joey had been half of the now wildly popular pop-folk-jazz duo Zoe and Joey. He’d been the son of Larry Murphy, one of the most powerful lawyers in town. And, most importantly (in Saturn, at least), he’d been the nephew of Kevin Murphy, the CEO and founder of Murphy Tech. The company that was, by far, the biggest thing to come out of Saturn. To come out of their state, really.

The news coverage of Joey’s death had been relentless at first. Every aspect of the case had been analyzed and publicized in a way that made the Saturn sheriff’s department look like it was being run by a bunch of monkeys.

Evan’s mother had been the sheriff at the time. He’d stood by and watched while her name was dragged through the mud again and again. 

Everyone had an opinion about how she had handled the case. Most people seemed to think she was wrong, morally wrong, to focus her investigation on the Murphy family. 

That hadn’t stopped her though. Evan didn’t know why. Even after everything they’d been through, he still didn’t know what had made her zero in on them the way she had. Part of him wondered if he ever would.

It had led to a public outcry. There had been talks of holding an emergency recall election. His mother had been pulled into meeting after meeting until she finally agreed to resign.

Evan had been relieved when she did. He hated to admit that, especially now, but it had been a relief at the time.

He’d thought, foolishly thought, that things could go back to the way they were. 

He’d been wrong, of course.

Joey was still dead. His best friend, the only real friend he’d ever had, was still dead.

And Zoe was still mad. 

Mad at his mother for handling the case the way she had, mad at the world for taking her twin from her, and mad at Evan for taking his mother’s side.

She’d gotten him to admit that on camera. That had been the final nail in the coffin that contained their relationship.

She’d asked him over to help her film a tribute episode for her YouTube channel. One final video before she officially retired the Zoe and Joey name.

She’d talked about Joey, about his life and death, about how awful it felt not knowing exactly what had happened to him. She’d mentioned how the local sheriff had bungled the case. She hadn’t mentioned the sheriff by name, but there had been a definite edge to her tone.

And then she had pulled Evan towards the camera and asked if he agreed with her.

She’d flat out asked if he agreed.

Of course, he’d said no. He’d been caught off-guard, but he’d managed to say no.

And that had been that.

End of relationship. End of Evan’s new life.

Evan had immediately gone back to being an outsider at school.

No, that made it sound better than it was. He hadn’t gone back. He’d become something new.

In the span of six months, he’d gone from being the awkward invisible guy to semi-popular to total social pariah. It was enough to give him whiplash. He tried to look on the bright side. He couldn’t imagine his social standing changing again. There was no way it would improve, not without Joey there to help him out, and he didn’t see how it could get any worse. 

It would’ve embarrassed him if he let it. Everyone knew what trajectory his social life had taken. His mother knew it, their neighbors knew it, even his father knew it.

His father who hadn’t been a regular part of his life in years.

His father who had shown up at their door one day and announced that he thought he should take Evan back to Colorado to live with his family.

Evan had been tempted to take him up on his offer. He’d seriously considered it for a day or two.

It was tempting to think that he could leave Saturn and start over somewhere else. Somewhere no one knew who he was. Somewhere no one knew who his mother was. Somewhere he could go back to being the guy no one noticed.

But then he heard his parents arguing.

He heard the things his father said. The accusations he made. The way he made it sound like Evan hadn’t been raised right. Like Evan was the way he was because he’d spent most of his childhood fending for himself.

Evan had frozen when he heard that. He knew his father hadn’t meant for him to hear it. That made it worse somehow. 

He’d sat down at the top of the stairs and focused on his breathing until he realized his mother was fighting back.

Hearing her say that he was doing just fine, that his father didn’t understand anything about him, that she didn’t want him to go had settled it for him.

Her voice had cracked when she’d said that she needed him. Their argument came to a halt when she said that. When she spoke again, her voice was barely above a whisper. Evan had had to creep down the stairs to hear. 

She’d said that she didn’t want Evan to leave, but she would stay out of it. She wouldn’t throw a fit or try to make him feel bad if he decided to go with his father. She would let him make the decision on his own.

That was when Evan realized he had to stay. He was his mother’s son after all. If she could keep her cool after everything that had happened, if she could stay calm while she was forced to reinvent her life, then he could handle staying in a town that hated them.

And, besides, it wasn’t like he’d liked them all that much in the first place.


	2. Chapter 2

Evan pulled over as soon as he saw the crowd gathered around the flag pole. He pulled over because he knew he needed to take care of this, because he knew no one else would, because he knew Jared Kleinman was almost as friendless as he was.

He pulled over because he needed his knife for this and he knew there was no way he’d get it through the metal detectors. 

“Hey,” Mrs. Lyman, the teacher on duty, called when she saw where he’d left his car. “You can’t park there.”

Evan ignored her. He kept going and pushed his way through the mob of students. He paused long enough to glare at the ones who were laughing and taking pictures.

He heard Mrs. Lyman cursing behind him when she realized what everyone was staring at. He heard her grab her radio and say that she needed back-up. That there was a naked student duct-taped to the flag pole.

He would’ve told her not to bother, that this would be over before anyone else showed up to help, but he was too busy cutting Jared down.

He pulled the sweatshirt out of his bag and offered it to Jared as soon as he was done.

Jared narrowed his eyes and reluctantly tied it around his waist. 

“This doesn’t mean we’re even,” Jared said sharply.

Evan didn’t bother responding. He turned on his heel and went to move his car before Mrs. Lyman could follow through with her threat to give him detention.

 

Jared caught up with Evan at his locker. Evan hadn’t been expecting that. He’d assumed that Jared would stick with his resolution to avoid Evan at all costs.

“Here,” Jared grunted. He thrust the sweatshirt back at Evan and turned to go.

Evan shoved the shirt in his locker. He tried not to cringe as he thought about where the shirt had just been. Part of him wanted to tell Jared to keep it or, at the very least, to have it washed first. He knew that wouldn’t go over well though. He took a breath and braced himself when he saw Jared spin around to face him again.

“Thanks for that,” Jared muttered. “It was surprisingly decent of you.”

“Surprisingly?” Evan raised his eyebrows.

“So, how’re you holding up?” Jared looked away when he saw the surprise on Evan’s face. “That’s not me asking. My parents want to know. They told me I should be nice to you because you’ve been through a lot this year. I tried telling them they shouldn’t feel bad for you because you’re an asshole, but they refused to believe that.”

“I’m sure you’ll manage to convince them eventually,” Evan said brightly.

“Ha ha,” Jared scoffed.

Evan shut his locker and leaned against it.

He couldn’t blame Jared for being mad at him. He knew he deserved it.

Maybe not as much as Jared thought he did, but he knew he was in the wrong. He’d known that for a while. He’d actually known that from the start.

 

He’d gone to Jared for help when he saw the ad. It popped up on Facebook the summer after tenth grade.

The Murphy twins were looking for someone to produce their music videos. Their videos were finally starting to get popular and they wanted to find someone who knew how to make them look less amateurish. 

Evan hadn’t known how to do that at the time. He’d barely known how to do anything other than the basics on the computer.

Jared knew though. He knew Jared could do what the twins wanted.

So, Evan asked Jared to teach him. He’d paid Jared to teach him.

Because they weren’t actually friends. Jared was adamant about that. They were family friends. Acquaintances. Two guys who had known each other their whole lives because their mothers were friends.

Evan hadn’t told Jared why he was so eager to learn how to edit videos. But then Jared hadn’t asked either.

He’d learned enough that he felt comfortable responding to the ad. He hadn’t expected anything to come of it. He was sure they’d already managed to find someone.

One of their friends, probably. Someone popular and cool. Someone they already knew existed.

They hadn’t though. Joey wrote back to him the next day and asked him to stop by their house that afternoon.

Evan couldn’t believe his luck. He’d been excited until he realized how terrifying it was.

He’d only been able to work up the nerve to answer the ad because he’d thought it was pointless. 

He’d gone to their house though. He’d gone because he’d known this was it. His chance to see Zoe up close, to do what his mother and Dr. Sherman kept telling him to do, to reach out and make an effort for once.

Zoe hadn’t been home that day. Evan had been disappointed and then relieved when he saw that Joey was the only one there.

He hadn’t really known Joey at the time. They’d been in a few of the same classes and he was pretty sure they’d worked on a science project together in sixth grade, but that was it.

He hadn’t expected to become friends with Joey. Instant friends. Easy friends. The kind of friends that very quickly became inseparable.

He’d spent a lot of time at the Murphy house that summer and only a small portion of that time had been devoted to working on the twins’ videos.

Evan hadn’t been upset when the summer ended. For the first time in his life, he actually hadn’t dreaded going back to school. He had friends. He had people to talk to. He had people who knew who he was and liked him. Or seemed to like him. There was always a part of him that felt like Joey was the only one who actually liked having him around.

Everything had been going well until Jared figured out what he was doing. Until Jared decided that he wanted in. Until Jared decided that it was wrong that Evan was using the skills he’d taught him to become popular.

Evan had ignored Jared’s requests to become a co-producer. He’d ignored his texts and calls. He’d avoided him at school. He’d even told his mother he had no idea what she was talking about when she relayed a conversation she’d had with Jared’s mother.

He’d known he was being a jerk, but he stood by his decision. This was something that was his. Something that he’d always wanted, something that he thought he needed.

He’d known that Jared would find a way to ruin everything.

So, he’d left Jared out. He’d ignored him. He’d acted like Jared was crazy when he finally worked up the nerve to approach Evan’s new friends.

He’d done everything in his power to keep Jared out of his new life.

So, yeah, he knew Jared had a legitimate gripe against him.

He still wasn’t sure how much he cared about that though.

 

Evan frowned as he watched Jared absentmindedly pick at his gym uniform.

He wasn’t sure if he cared about the fact that Jared was mad at him, but he was curious about what had happened to Jared that morning.

“So, what’d you do?” Evan wondered.

Jared let go of his shirt and squinted at him. “What?”

“I mean, I’m assuming you did something to-”

“To deserve being tied up like that? To deserve being ambushed and stripped down by a bunch of jocks?”

“So, it was the jocks then,” Evan nodded.

“Why do you care?” Jared spat.

“I’m just-” Evan began. He stopped speaking when he saw that Jared had already stopped listening.

“What’s he doing here?” 

“She goes here,” Evan reminded him. He could feel his face heating up when he realized what he’d said, when he realized that he was blatantly watching Zoe as she walked down the hall with her friends.

“Not your ex,” Jared rolled his eyes. “Her brother. Didn’t he graduate?”

“He didn’t finish the year.”

“He didn’t?” Jared’s face scrunched up as he stared at the ceiling.

“No,” Evan shook his head. “He didn’t come back after Joey...”

Evan was really starting to wonder if finishing that sentence would ever stop being painful.

“Oh,” Jared nodded. “So, what? He’s in our grade now? They’re making him repeat senior year?”

“You know as much as I do,” Evan shrugged.

“And that’s killing you, isn’t it?” Jared smirked.

Evan didn’t bother responding.

 

It had been six months, one week, and four days since Evan had seen Connor Murphy.

He knew that because that was a thing he did now. He kept count of days.

It had been six months, three weeks, and six days since Joey died.

Six months, one week, and four days since his funeral.

Five months, three weeks, and one day since Zoe broke up with him.

Four months, two weeks, and two days since his mother resigned.

Four months, one week, and five days since she opened Hansen Investigations.

Four months, one week, and four days since she officially hired Evan as her receptionist/assistant.

Evan didn’t know how many hours or minutes were involved with any of those things. He wasn’t that crazy.

Yet.

He tried not to watch Zoe and her friends. He tried not to think about the fact that Connor was with them. He tried not to wonder what that was about.

Because he knew Zoe couldn’t stand her older brother. He knew they didn’t get along, that they’d never gotten along. He knew that Connor was the black sheep of the family. He knew that even Joey – Joey who had loved everyone, who had always stood up for the underdog, who had been the most optimistic person Evan had ever met – had said that his brother was “difficult.”

Evan had taken the twins’ word for it because he’d never gotten to witness any of Connor’s antics firsthand. He’d heard the stories though. So many stories. It was enough to make him glad that Connor had almost never been around when he visited Zoe and Joey.

Connor had definitely outdone himself at Joey’s funeral. Evan had gotten a front row seat to that show. 

Connor had shown up late, high as a kite and swigging from a bottle of vodka. 

He’d stumbled in and gone straight for his family. He’d confronted them and yelled about how he knew they all wished he was the one in the casket, not Joey.

No one had been able to calm him down. Not his parents, not his aunt. Not even the sight of a baby wailing about the noise he was making had slowed him down.

He hadn’t cared that the church was packed. He hadn’t seemed to notice as people pulled out their phones and recorded his speech.

That hadn’t been the moment that went viral though.

The moment that practically broke the internet was the moment when Zoe finally stood up, looked him in the eye, and said he was right. She would give anything to have Joey back, even if it meant Connor had to take his place.

 

And now, here they were. Six months, one week, and four days later. Evan couldn’t help wondering what had changed. He wondered if anything had actually changed. 

He glanced up long enough to see that they weren’t talking to each other. Zoe was chatting away with one of her friends while Connor organized his locker. 

There didn’t seem to be any overt hostility between them though. So, there was that. 

Evan doubted Zoe would be extending that courtesy to him as well.

He blinked when he saw that Jared was glaring at him again. He felt a brief flash of guilt when he realized that Jared had been in the middle of saying something.

“Why am I still talking to you?” Jared sneered.

“Because I’ve been through a lot this year?” Evan deadpanned.

Jared wrinkled his nose and walked away without saying another word.

Evan wasn’t surprised. This was how he’d expected to end up.

Alone again, naturally.


	3. Chapter 3

“Oh, tough break, man.”

“Gotta watch out for those nails.”

Evan wiped his hands on his jeans and kept his eyes focused on the tire in front of him. He refused to look up. He refused to acknowledge the guys standing behind him. He refused to let their laughter get to him.

Of all the skills he’d picked up since he’d started working for his mother, his ability to change a tire was by far the most useful. Besides the computer skills he’d learned, it was definitely the one he had used the most.

“Gavin!”

Evan glanced up when he heard Zoe’s voice. He couldn’t help it. He couldn’t ignore her, no matter how much he wanted to.

“Tell me this wasn’t you,” Zoe demanded.

“It wasn’t me,” Gavin snickered.

“Bullshit,” Connor snarled.

Evan blinked up at the Murphys when he realized that they were leaving school together. 

It had been a weird day. A weird, weird day.

“It isn’t even his car,” Zoe said shrilly. “It’s his mother’s car.”

“All the more reason-” Gavin started.

“Uh-uh,” Zoe snapped. “We’ve been through this. Stop messing with him.” Zoe folded her arms across her chest as she stared down at Evan. “He isn’t worth it.”

Six months ago, that statement would’ve felt like a punch to the gut. As it was, Evan was more amused than hurt by Zoe’s words. He looked away quickly when he saw the dumbfounded expressions on the jocks’ faces.

“I’m serious,” Zoe went on. “Leave him alone or I’ll-”

“You’ll what?” Gavin murmured. He stepped forward to stroke Zoe’s arm.

Zoe closed her eyes and took a step backwards. Gavin moved with her, his hand never leaving her arm.

“Get your fucking hand off my sister!” Connor barked.

Zoe’s eyes flew open as she turned to look at him. “Connor-”

Gavin immediately jumped away and chuckled nervously. “Freak...”

“Excuse me?” Zoe scoffed. “You want to say that again? A bit louder this time because I know I didn’t hear you right.”

“Come on, man,” Gavin’s friend muttered. “Let’s get to practice.”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Okay.”

There was a moment, an awkward moment, after they were gone. Evan didn’t know what to say. Part of him thought he should thank the Murphys. He really didn’t want to do that though. He hated feeling like he owed them anything.

He turned his attention back to the tire and reached for his tools. They were gone by the time he looked up again.

 

Working in a detective’s office wasn’t nearly as interesting as Evan would have imagined it would be. The majority of his mother’s cases were pretty boring. They kept her out of the office though, so she depended on Evan to answer the phones and handle the intake interviews when she wasn’t available.

A year ago, Evan would have laughed and/or had a heart attack if someone had told him what his job at Hansen Investigations would entail. 

He was finally getting used to it now though. He didn’t particularly like it and, yeah, okay, he had to admit that he was still awkward. Extremely awkward. So awkward that he often thought he really shouldn’t be the one interviewing people who were obviously going through something major.

He thought he was getting better at it though. He still forgot to greet people when they came in and he still succumbed to every nervous tic he had while talking to them and...

Okay, so maybe not that much better.

He didn’t always let the phone go to voicemail though. So, there was that. And that was a pretty huge step for him, if he did say so himself.

 

The door swung open just as Evan was reaching for his math book. He quickly sat back up and willed himself to look as professional as possible. He dropped the façade when he saw who it was.

“Evan!” Henry Kleinman greeted merrily. He crossed the room and immediately extended his hand.

Evan swallowed anxiously when he realized what Henry was going for.

Henry was fond of those bro handshakes. Those weird, crazy complicated handshakes that Evan didn’t understand at all. He reluctantly lifted his hand and allowed Henry to beat it up for a minute while Jared smirked in the background.

“Good to see you, man,” Henry beamed. “Listen, we were just in the neighborhood and-”

“Is your mom in?” Jared interjected. 

“She’s working a case,” Evan replied.

“Oh.” Henry’s shoulders sagged as he exhaled. “We should’ve called and made an appointment, shouldn’t we?”

“I thought you just happened to be in the neighborhood,” Evan reminded him.

“We need her help,” Jared said sharply. He looked at Henry expectantly and rolled his eyes when his brother didn’t take the lead. “So, this morning, the flag pole, turns out it wasn’t because of something I did.”

“They were trying to send me a message,” Henry explained. He took a breath and threw himself onto the chair in front of Evan. “You’ve heard about the latest photo scandal, haven’t you?”

“With Sophie Ventura?” Evan nodded. “The picture from her party?”

“That’s the one,” Henry said grimly. “So, thing is, I’m the guy in the picture. You can’t tell because my head isn’t in the frame, but...”

“Sophie’s friends think Henry’s the one who leaked the photo,” Jared said.

“It wasn’t me,” Henry said quickly. “Sophie and I hooked up a couple times and that’s it. I swear. I would never do that. I’m not a creep.”

“Not a total one anyway,” Jared muttered.

“So,” Henry drawled. “We were thinking we could hire your mom to figure out who really sent it. That way, we can get them off my back.”

“You were thinking you could hire his mom,” Jared corrected. “I’m not paying for this.”

“You want them to leave you alone, don’t you?”

“I’m not paying for your mistakes. I’m not paying with money, I mean. I’ve already had to sacrifice a good chunk of my pride and my dignity and-”

“Your boxers,” Evan finished. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms behind his head when Henry reached out to high five him.

“Screw you guys,” Jared snapped.

“How much does your mom charge?” Henry wondered.

Evan handed over a pamphlet and watched as the brothers studied it.

“We can’t afford this,” Henry mumbled.

“You can’t afford it,” Jared said. “Not even if I chip in.”

“Isn’t there some kind of friends and family discount?” Henry asked hopefully.

Evan looked Jared in the eye and said, “But we’re not friends.”

Jared’s ears went red as he turned to glare out the window.

“What’re you talking about?” Henry laughed. “You’re Jared’s best friend.”

“Henry!” Jared moaned.

“What? Oh, right. You guys are still in a fight or something, aren’t you? Can’t you just... I don’t know. Can’t you kiss and make up, so-”

“My mom doesn’t usually take cases like this anyway,” Evan cut in softly. 

Henry let that sink in for a moment before straightening up to study Evan. “What about you? Our mom said you’ve been helping your mom with some of her cases. Can’t you do something to help us out?”

Evan spun around to face the wall while he thought about that. It didn’t sound like a hard case to crack. He was fairly certain he could solve it quickly if he tried. And he could use the money. His mother really was paying him next to nothing.

“It’ll cost you,” Evan decided. “Not as much as it would to hire my mom, but-”

“Okay,” Henry nodded. He reached for his wallet and frowned. “I have 21, no 22 bucks.”

Jared rolled his eyes when he saw that Henry was watching him. “Like I said, I am not paying to clean up your mess.”

“What’ll 22 dollars get me?”

“An hour of my time,” Evan said.

“You charge 22 dollars an hour?” Jared asked disbelievingly. 

“Take it or leave it,” Evan shrugged.

“We’ll take it,” Henry nodded eagerly. He grinned as he looked at his brother again. “What if I throw in something else? I can get Jared to be friends with you again. That has to be worth-”

“Oh my God,” Jared groaned. “Stop. Just stop. Seriously.”

“I don’t want his friendship,” Evan said plainly. “Not like that.”

Jared glanced at him in surprise.

Evan tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I can use help getting to and from school though. I solve this and Jared has to pick me up and drop me off whenever my mom needs the car.”

Jared stared at the ceiling and sighed. “Fine, but only because it’s on my way.”

“Good, great,” Henry beamed. “Glad that’s settled.”

Evan tilted his head as Henry started to get up. “Hold up. I need more information. Who else has access to your phone?”

“Jared does,” Henry answered automatically. “We share a room.”

“You do?” Evan glanced up quickly. “I thought you were living in the dorms.”

“No, man,” Henry laughed. “Jared didn’t tell you? I’m taking some time off to focus on my modeling career.”

“His foot modeling career,” Jared mumbled.

“You haven’t supported my career at all,” Henry snapped. “You know, we can probably solve this right now. Jared had the means to do it and the motive. He’s still mad that I’m home, living in what he thinks should be his room.”

“For the last time, I did not send the picture!” Jared made a face at his brother. “Henry’s passcode is 1-2-3-4. I’m not the only one who knows that. Far from it, really. All his friends have used his phone at some point or another.”

“I suck at remembering passwords,” Henry said defensively. “And the finger scan thing doesn’t work for me.”

“Okay,” Evan nodded. “So, there are people who could’ve accessed your phone?”

“Definitely,” Jared nodded.

Evan grabbed a notepad and started jotting down his thoughts. “Can you send me the picture? That would help.”

“Yeah,” Henry nodded. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through it. “I think I still have it on here.”

“I downloaded it before they took it down,” Jared admitted sheepishly.

Evan’s eyes widened as they both lifted up their phones for him to see. “That’s not the same picture.”

“It’s not?” Henry frowned. He looked from his phone to Jared’s and back again. “It looks the same.”

“The angle’s different,” Evan pointed out. “See.”

Jared’s mouth dropped as he looked between the phones. “He’s right. They are different. This one’s closer and Sophie’s mouth looks different here. I can’t believe I didn’t see that before.”

“That’s because you got distracted by Sophie’s boobs,” Henry grinned. His forehead furrowed as he scratched his nose. “So, what does this mean then?”

“It means your photo wasn’t leaked,” Evan said calmly. “It means someone else was in the room. Someone else took that picture.” He gestured at the phone in Jared’s hand.

“Wait, so someone was in the room when we were...” Henry shuddered at the thought. 

“So, what now?” Jared wondered.

“I’ll talk to some people tomorrow,” Evan said. “Try to figure out who was around when... Where were you, exactly? And what time did this happen?”

“Time?” Henry laughed. “I was drunk. Seriously drunk. So, I don’t know. But we were upstairs. In Sophie’s room, maybe? I don’t know. It had a bed.”

“Obviously,” Jared smirked.

“Oh, shush,” Henry scolded. “I don’t really remember anything else. The whole night was kind of a blur.”

“Okay,” Evan nodded. “So, I’ll talk to some people and...” He frowned when he saw that Jared was laughing. “What?”

“You keep saying that,” Jared chuckled. “You’re going to talk to people?”

“Yeah...”

“You?”

“I can talk to people,” Evan muttered. 

“Without Joey there to hold your hand?” Jared’s mouth snapped shut when he realized what he’d said. “Shit. I didn’t mean...” Jared ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “You want me to go with you?”

“Aww,” Henry cooed.

Jared whacked his brother’s arm without looking. “I’m serious. I’ll go as long as I get to be the bad cop.”

“Like you could be any other kind,” Henry grinned.


	4. Chapter 4

Jared was already at Evan’s locker when he got there. 

“So, what’s the plan?” Jared asked. He rocked back on his heels and rubbed his hands together in a way that only slightly made him look like a cartoon villain.

Evan shook his head to keep from laughing. “Don’t you want to eat first? I know how cranky you get when you skip lunch.”

“You make me sound like a toddler,” Jared huffed. “It’s a blood sugar thing.”

“Okay,” Evan nodded. “But still-”

“I ate my sandwich last period,” Jared reluctantly admitted. “Mr. Chester didn’t notice.”

“Right,” Evan sighed. “Okay, so...”

Evan’s eyes lit up when spotted a figure standing outside the gym. He couldn’t have timed this better if he’d tried.

“We’ll start with Tracy,” Evan decided. 

Jared glanced at him skeptically as they made their way down the hall. “You think she’ll talk to us?”

“Yeah,” Evan said firmly.

Tracy Jacobs was the only person from Evan’s old group who still talked to him. Probably because they’d been in the same boat last year. They’d been the outsiders who suddenly found themselves on the inside. Evan had found his way in through his friendship with Joey and his relationship with Zoe. Tracy had been accepted when she started dating the school quarterback. It had been a new world for both of them. They’d talked about that on more than one occasion. 

Things were different now, of course. Tracy was still part of the in crowd while Evan was most definitely not. She didn’t seem bothered by that though. Tracy was definitely not one to care about how the social hierarchy was supposed to work.

“Hey, Tracy,” Evan called. “Do you have a second?”

Tracy grinned as she spun around. “For you, Evan, I have an entire minute.”

“Did you go to Sophie Ventura’s party last week?”

“Yeah,” Tracy said slowly. “John and I went.”

“Okay, good,” Evan sighed. “So, we’re trying to-”

“Did you see anyone skulking around the bedrooms?” Jared demanded. “Were people playing a perverted version of Truth or Dare?”

“What?” Tracy blinked.

“Isn’t that the kind of thing your boyfriend’s friends do? They lurk around and look for...” Jared narrowed his eyes when he saw the way Evan was staring at him. “Bad cop!”

“We’re trying to figure out who took that picture of Sophie,” Evan explained.

“I thought it was that guy Henry...” Tracy bit her lip uncertainly. Her eyes widened as she glanced at Jared. “He’s your brother, isn’t he?”

“He didn’t do it,” Jared said swiftly. “Someone set him up.”

Tracy tilted her head doubtfully. “I didn’t see anything strange. I don’t think I did anyway. The whole night was... John and I got into a fight and I...” Tracy’s face went red while she twisted her hands in front of her. “I got pretty wasted. I ended up sleeping it off in John’s car.”

Evan mouth formed a thin line as he tried to swallow his disappointment. 

“You should talk to Alana,” Tracy suggested. “She came with us and she notices everything.”

“Alana Beck?” 

“Yeah,” Tracy nodded eagerly. “She’s in a meeting now, but you can catch up with her after school. She’s always here late.” 

Jared caught Evan’s eye as Tracy wandered away from them. “I am not bad cop-ing Alana Beck.”

 

“The folders by the window are for the middle schoolers. They have to complete the worksheets by tomorrow. You can find the answer keys on Ms. Flannigan’s desk if you need them. If you go here and you need help with your homework, have a seat by the door. We’ll pair you up with a tutor in a minute. If you’re here to get volunteer hours, make sure you sign in on the clipboard. Mikayla has it... Or, actually, Kyle has it. So, make sure you check in with him. And don’t even think about ducking out of here early. I will dock you.”

Alana cleared her throat before spinning around to face them. “Can I help you?”

“Uh, yeah,” Evan blinked. “We-”

“Kyle has the clipboard,” Alana reminded them.

“We’re not here to-”

“Take a seat by the door if you need a tutor.”

“We’re not here for that either,” Evan said sheepishly. “We-”

Alana tapped her foot impatiently as she stared them down. “Are you here about the food drive?”

“No.”

“The pep rally?”

“No...” Evan glared at Jared when he started to laugh.

“The-”

“We wanted to ask you a couple questions about Sophie’s party,” Evan said quietly.

“Oh,” Alana muttered. “Okay...” 

She waved at a girl across the floor. “Hey, Cara, can you keep an eye on things for a minute?”

Alana led them to a secluded corner of the room without waiting for a response. 

“This is about the picture your brother took,” Alana said knowingly. 

“He didn’t take it,” Jared replied automatically.

“Someone else took it,” Evan confirmed. “I’ve seen the picture on Henry’s phone. It’s different from the one that got posted online.”

“So, you think someone else snuck in and took it?” Alana wondered.

“Or they were already in there,” Evan nodded. “Did you see anything that night? Tracy thought-”

“Tracy,” Alana squeaked. “You talked to Tracy?”

Evan exchanged a glance with Jared and shrugged. “Yeah, we talked to her during lunch.”

“Oh,” Alana nodded frantically. “Okay. Well... I did go upstairs for a bit. It was loud and I-I needed to be someplace quiet. I needed to think and... I saw Sophie and your brother.”

“When they were in Sophie’s room?” Jared asked.

Alana shook her head. “When they were in Olivia’s room.”

“Olivia?” Evan frowned.

“Sophie’s sister,” Alana said. She pointed across the room. “She’s here, actually. Max is helping her with her Biology homework.”

Evan’s heart began to race as he followed her gaze. He suddenly had a hunch he knew who the culprit was.

Olivia jumped off her chair and ran from the room before he could stand up.

“Well, that wasn’t at all suspicious,” Jared mumbled.

Evan didn’t bother thanking Alana for her help. He crossed the room at record speed and ran out into the hallway. He stopped short when he spotted Olivia sitting on the floor across from the classroom. 

Olivia’s shoulders shuddered as she took a breath. She was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chin and her face buried in her arms. She glanced up quickly and opened one eye to study them. 

“I know what you’re going to say,” Olivia whispered. “Henry told Sophie what you’re doing.”

“You took the picture?” Jared scoffed.

Olivia nodded glumly. “I didn’t mean for it to blow up like that. I just... They were doing it on my bed! Did he tell you that? Your brother... I was sitting in the corner, working on my blog and minding my own business, when they came bursting in. They didn’t notice me. They just went right to it. I-I couldn’t move. I...” 

Olivia lifted her head up to glare at the ceiling. “She wouldn’t let me come downstairs. She told me to stay away from her friends and then she...”

“They were drunk,” Jared sighed. “Not that that makes it okay, but Henry thought they were in Sophie’s room.”

“I figured,” Olivia nodded. “Afterwards, Sophie kept going on about how she didn’t remember having so many stuffed animals.”

“You have to tell her,” Jared said lightly. “She has to know it wasn’t Henry.”

“Why?” Olivia demanded. “So the jocks will leave you alone?”

“Among other reasons,” Jared nodded. 

“I can’t-” Olivia started. She wiped her eyes and slumped down even further against the wall. “I can’t tell her. I... She wouldn’t listen to me if I tried.”

“I might be able to help with that.”

Evan wasn’t surprised when he looked over his shoulder and saw Alana standing in the doorway.

“I took a weeklong mediation workshop this summer,” Alana said brightly. “I’d be happy to sit down with you and Sophie. I can help you sort things out.”

Olivia stared at her like she’d sprouted a second head. “No, thanks. Really...”

“I know what it’s like,” Alana said softly. “I have sisters. I know how they can be. What Sophie did was terrible, but what you did was even worse because it was intentional.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Olivia snapped. 

“Sophie has cheerleading practice now, doesn’t she?” 

Olivia nodded slowly.

“Okay,” Alana decided. “We’ll talk to her afterwards.”

“I just said-”

“You know, I don’t think I trust you to do the right thing,” Alana said shortly. “I’m going with you whether you want me to or not.”

Olivia’s face scrunched up angrily, but she seemed to realize she wasn’t going to win this battle. “Okay, fine...”

Alana beamed and nodded at the door. “We should get back in there. Max is waiting for you.”

Jared let out a startled laugh as soon as the door closed behind them. “Did Alana just shanghai our case?”

“It would seem so,” Evan said.

“Don’t worry,” Jared chuckled. “I won’t tell Henry. He’ll try to make you give him a refund if he hears.”

 

“And that’s why you should always wear purple leggings while you’re chasing a suspect.”

“Okay,” Evan nodded. He forced himself to look up when he realized his mother was shaking her head at him.

“You haven’t been listening to a word I’ve said, have you?”

“Not really,” Evan admitted. 

“I’m going to need the car tomorrow. I finally got a lead on that bail jumper from last month. It sounds like he’s holed up in Myrtle. I can drop you off on my way if you don’t mind going to school early.”

“That’s okay. I’ll ask Jared to pick me up.”

“Jared?” Heidi grinned. “Really? You guys made up?”

“Sort of,” Evan shrugged. “We helped Henry with a problem today.”

Heidi’s face lit up at that. “A problem? As in a case?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded.

“Am I going to have to start asking for a cut of what you bring in?”

“Only if I use your resources, right?”

Heidi laughed and shook her head. “I’m glad you’re spending time with Jared. It’s good for you to have a friend.”

“I don’t know if I’d call us friends. Allies is more like it.”

“Allies are important too,” Heidi nodded. “I think we’ve learned that this year.”

“Yeah,” Evan mumbled. He glanced at the phone in his lap before looking at her again. “Did you hear he pled guilty?”

“Who?”

“Ricky Donahoe.”

“I heard,” Heidi said numbly.

“What do you think?”

“Evan-”

“I know you have an opinion,” Evan said quickly. 

“I really wish you would stop dwelling on this case. It isn’t healthy.”

“He was my friend. My best friend.”

“I know,” Heidi sighed. “I know this hasn’t been easy for you.”

“It hasn’t,” Evan agreed. “I just... I wish you’d tell me. I wish you’d tell me why you-”

“We’ve been over this.”

“I threw everything away. My whole life.”

“Your whole life?” Heidi laughed sharply. “You had a life before Joey and Zoe, Evan. It may not have seemed like much of one to you, but it was yours and it was real.”

“I chose you,” Evan said quietly. “When I had to choose, I-”

“I’m sorry you had to sacrifice your social life for me,” Heidi said snappishly.

“It’s not just that,” Evan insisted. “It’s everything. I chose you because you’re my mother, but-”

“You’re wondering if I was wrong. You’re wondering if everyone else was right about me.”

“He says he’s guilty.”

“And maybe he is,” Heidi shrugged. 

“But you don’t think so?”

“I think...” Heidi closed her eyes and took a breath. “I think there are a lot of things about this case that don’t make sense. A lot of things that don’t add up. I think it’s awfully convenient that Sheriff Henderson was finally able to make an arrest based off of an anonymous tip that was called in. An anonymous tip that no one has stepped forward to claim, despite the hefty reward Kevin Murphy offered.”

Evan glanced at her curiously. “What doesn’t add up?”

“No,” Heidi shook her head. “Dr. Sherman and I are in agreement on this one. I’m not feeding your obsession.”

“Mom-”

“Don’t you have homework? Rumor has it they still like to give high schoolers mundane tasks to complete at home.”

Evan stood up and dropped his plate in the sink. He turned to leave without another word, without another glance.

“Take Ranger with you,” Heidi ordered.

Evan stopped in spite of himself. “What?”

“If you’re going for a walk, take Ranger with you. I think he needs more exercise.”

The dog let out a sleepy growl at his name. Evan grabbed Ranger’s lease and snapped it on. 

Evan patted Ranger’s head and smiled as he wagged his tail excitedly. Before Joey, Ranger had been the closest thing Evan had had to a best friend. He was only slightly embarrassed to admit that he’d always related to Ranger on a deeper level.

Ranger was a mutt. A complete mutt. The vet couldn’t even begin to guess how many breeds were in his DNA. They didn’t know how old he was. He’d been full-grown when they’d adopted him five years ago. Depending on the day, he either acted like a puppy or a senior dog ready to be put out to pasture. 

The uncertainties surrounding Ranger put Evan at ease in a way he couldn’t explain. They’d gotten Ranger so Evan wouldn’t be completely alone while his mother was working. They’d gotten him because Heidi thought they should have a watch dog. They’d gotten him to help fill the void they didn’t mention.

Evan looked over his shoulder as he led Ranger towards the door. “You want to come with us?”

Heidi blinked at him in surprise before standing up. “Sure, sweetie. I’d love to.”


	5. Chapter 5

The sound of the rain hitting the window made Evan want to yawn. He put his free hand to his mouth while his mother continued to talk.

“Show me the pile by the fish tank again,” Heidi ordered.

“We’ve looked at it four times,” Evan reminded her. He rubbed his forehead when he realized how whiny he sounded.

It wasn’t his fault. He’d been in a sound sleep when she’d called and insisted that he go to the office and find something for her.

“Do you think we should look into hiring a cleaning service?” Evan wondered.

“You think we can afford a cleaning service?” Heidi laughed. “And, besides, they’d mess up my system.”

“You have a system?”

“Haven’t you heard of organized chaos?”

“I give up,” Evan groaned. “Are you sure you didn’t bring it with you?”

“I’ve checked twice. I need that paper, Evan. You’re sure you haven’t seen any papers with a unicorn doodle on them?”

“Positive,” Evan nodded. He cringed when he realized she couldn’t see him. He turned the phone so that they were face to face.

“Did you check by the sink?”

“Yes.”

“And in the top drawer-”

“Under the safe? Yes.”

“I don’t know where else I would’ve stuck it,” Heidi sighed. She scratched her chin thoughtfully. “Maybe it wasn’t a unicorn. That might’ve been the day I was sketching fish. Are they any papers with fish on them?”

Evan nodded swiftly. He grabbed a sheet off the stack on her desk. “Is this it?”

Heidi grinned as she squinted at the paper. “That’s it. Can you fax it to the hotel?”

“Will do,” Evan promised. He put the phone down while he went to their fax machine.

“So, do you have any plans for today?”

“Sleep,” Evan called over his shoulder. “I’m going back to bed after this.”

“I said I’m sorry! I thought you’d be up. You never sleep this late.” 

Evan didn’t have to look at his phone to see that she was trying to study his face.

“You haven’t been sleeping this week, have you?”

“I’ve slept some,” Evan shrugged.

“You know you can always stay with Maggie if you don’t want to stay there by yourself.”

“I’m fine,” Evan said quickly.

“Or what about Jared? I can call Eileen and see if you can stay there until I get back. Or maybe Jared would like to stay at our house. You boys can stay up late and eat junk food.”

“I’m fine, Mom. Really.”

“You have circles under your eyes.”

“Which is why I was trying to sleep in today.”

“Okay, fine, go back to sleep then,” Heidi relented. “Maggie said she’d stop by to see you tonight. She’s going to pick up dinner for you.”

“I told you I’m-”

“You’re telling me you haven’t been eating cereal and marshmallows for dinner all week?”

“And peanut butter. Don’t forget about the peanut butter.”

“Please tell me you’re remembering to feed Ranger at least.”

“Like he’d let me forget,” Evan scoffed.

“And you’re...”

“I’m what?”

“You locked the door behind you, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, of course I did.”

“And you have the ‘we’re closed’ sign up, right?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Because there’s someone knocking on the door.”

Evan froze and looked over his shoulder. He didn’t know why. The office was dark except for the desk lamp and he wouldn’t have been able to see the front door from his mother’s desk even if he had put on the other lights.

“You didn’t hear that?” Heidi demanded.

“The knocking?”

“Evan! How many times do I have to tell you-”

“To pay attention to my surroundings at all times,” Evan finished. “I know. I heard something, but I thought it was the wind. It’s raining here.”

“Take me with you.”

Evan picked up the phone and held it out while he crept across the office. He didn’t know what she thought she could do when she was two states over, but he had to admit it was pretty reassuring to know someone would see what had happened if things went south for him.

“It might be Maggie,” Heidi suggested brightly. “She told me she was going to the farmer’s market. She may have decided to stop by if she saw the car out front.”

It wasn’t Maggie. It was the last person Evan ever would have expected to find at their door.

He heard his mother make a choking sound, but he refused to look down at the phone.

“We’re closed!” Evan called through the door. He breathed in sharply and took a step back.

“Do you take walk-ins or do I have to make an appointment?”

Evan shook his head dazedly. He’d heard about this kind of thing happening before. Joey had told him countless stories about the times Connor had gotten high and ended up someplace strange. He’d even tagged along once when the twins had to fetch Connor from the pier.

“This isn’t a hair salon,” Evan informed him. “This is a-”

“I know what this is,” Connor said shortly.

“And you know who I am?” Evan said it quieter than he’d meant to. It was just, well, he knew there was a chance that Connor had no idea who he was speaking to, that he couldn’t place Evan when he wasn’t in a familiar setting.

Evan swallowed anxiously when he saw the way Connor was staring at his phone. Right, of course, Connor knew who his mother was. She’d interrogated his entire family multiple times.

Evan glanced up and waited for Connor to bolt once he’d put the pieces together. He didn’t though. He looked Evan in the eye and nodded.

“You were Joey’s best friend.”

That statement caught Evan off-guard. The simplicity of it, the fact that it didn’t involve Zoe, that it didn’t involve his mother. That it confirmed that he had been Joey’s best friend.

Because, honestly, that was something Evan had always doubted. He knew that Joey had been his best friend, but he wasn’t always sure that it was mutual. Joey had had other options after all.

“I need help finding something,” Connor continued. 

Evan did a double take at that. “You’re here because you want to hire us?”

Evan very pointedly looked away when he heard his mother clear her throat. 

“I’ll call you back,” Evan muttered. He disconnected the call without waiting for a response.

He knew that wouldn’t go over well. He knew she’d try to call him right back, so he shut off his phone. He didn’t expect that to deter her. He had a feeling she’d call Maggie and use every trick in her book to get her friend to drop everything and check on him.

Because he knew she knew what he was about to do. She probably knew before he did. He’d inherited his sense of curiosity from her after all.

Evan unlocked the door before he could change his mind. Ranger ran over to him and let out a warning growl as soon as the door was open.

“Easy, boy,” Evan murmured. He tried not to smirk when he saw that Connor was eyeing the dog warily.

Bringing Ranger with him had been an impulsive decision, but he was starting to think it had been a good one.

“So, what are you trying to find?” Evan asked. He patted Ranger’s head before reaching for his notepad.

“I need to find a pen,” Connor replied.

“A pen?”

“Yes.”

Evan’s face scrunched up as he looked at Connor. He bit his lip to keep from laughing while he offered the pen in his hand. “Okay, here. That’ll be 20 dollars.”

“Don’t be a wiseass,” Connor sniped. “I’m looking for a particular pen.”

“Okay,” Evan nodded slowly. “Have you checked your backpack?”

“What did I just say about being a wiseass?”

Evan’s hands flew up in surrender. “Okay, fine. So, what’s the story with this pen? Is it made of gold or something?”

“It may as well be,” Connor sighed. “My dad gave it to me for my birthday last year. It’s a tradition in our family. Everyone gets a fancy pen when they turn eighteen.”

“Okay,” Evan said. He glanced up when Connor didn’t go on. “And you lost the pen?”

“Yeah,” Connor nodded. “And I need it. My birthday’s next week and I need it to sign the deposit slip for my checks. That’s another tradition we have. Everyone has to use the pen on their birthday.”

“What does it look like?”

“What?”

“The pen. What does it look like?”

“I don’t know,” Connor shrugged.

“You don’t know?” Evan repeated incredulously. He shut his eyes and nodded to himself. “Okay, when did you last see it?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Where did you last see it?” 

He put the notepad down when Connor just stared at him. “Is this a joke?”

“Do I look like I’m laughing?”

“Is this some kind of...” Evan swallowed dryly. He could feel his palms getting sweaty as reality set it, as he realized exactly what he had jumped into when he’d opened the door.

This had to be up there on the list of the craziest things he’d done in his life. He blamed his mother. Working for her was making it harder and harder for him to keep his curiosity in check.

“Are you all trying to set us up?” Evan finally asked. “Are you, I don’t know, trying to discredit my mom? Make it look like she’s such a lousy detective that she can’t even find a pen?”

“My parents don’t know I’m here,” Connor said firmly. “I came here because I need that pen and I’m desperate. I don’t have anywhere else to go. My father’s firm has relationships with all the other private detectives in town. He’ll find out if I go to any of them.”

Evan wasn’t sure if he believed that, but he decided to humor Connor. “Have you checked your house?”

“No. Why didn’t I think of that?” Connor rolled his eyes and dramatically slapped his forehead. “Zoe and I tore the house apart while our parents were out the other night. It isn’t there.”

Evan’s shoulders sagged as he pretended to study his notes. He didn’t know what to say. Which really wasn’t that unusual, but his silence this time was of the frustrated kind. 

“It has my initials on it,” Connor spoke up. “If that helps.” He tapped his fingers on his knees and stared out the window. “And I’m pretty sure I lost it on my birthday.”

“Okay,” Evan sighed. “Do you remember where you went on your birthday?”

Connor shook his head.

“Were you with anyone?”

“Maybe,” Connor shrugged. “I don’t remember.”

“You realize you’re asking me to find an invisible needle in a haystack that’s the size of a barn, don’t you?” 

“So, can you do it or not?”

Evan wanted to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of this request, but he didn’t think Connor would take that well. And if Connor didn’t take it well, then Ranger wouldn’t take it well. And then they’d all be back in the news. This time with a story about how the Hansens' dog had attacked the Murphy family’s surviving son.

Evan squeezed his notepad and took a breath. "I can try."


	6. Chapter 6

Evan really needed to stop underestimating his mother. He really needed to accept the fact that she was always two steps ahead of him.

He knew that was true this time when he opened the door to find Jared standing there.

“My mom called your mom?” Evan guessed.

“And asked if I could go stop her idiot son before he did something stupid,” Jared confirmed.

“My mom said that?”

“She may not have used those exact words, but her meaning was clear.” Jared narrowed his eyes at Evan. “Do I really need to tell you this is a bad idea?”

“What?”

Jared rolled his eyes. “Getting involved with the Murphys again.”

Evan breathed in quickly and stepped to the side so Jared could come in. “Connor will be here any minute.”

“Yeah, we figured.”

“So, she sent you to keep an eye on me? To be my bodyguard?”

Jared scoffed at that. “I’m not taking any hits for you. I’m here to be a witness if things go wrong.”

Evan shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the ceiling. “So, I guess she saw-”

“That you used her account to access the database of...” Jared shrugged. “Whatever it was.” Jared grinned and gave Evan two thumbs up. “Stealthy...”

“I thought she’d be too busy this afternoon to notice,” Evan admitted.

That had been wishful thinking on his part. He’d known that at the time, but he hadn’t cared enough to worry about it.

At least she’d sent Jared and not Maggie. It had been hard enough getting Maggie to leave him alone earlier. He’d had to let her take him to lunch and order him enough food to last at least three more meals. Maggie would’ve insisted he come stay with her if she’d thought he was up to something bad.

Not that what he was doing was bad. Evan didn’t think it was anyway.

He was investigating a stolen pen. How dangerous could that be?

He’d already made some headway with the case. He’d logged onto the site his mother always used to track stolen goods in case someone was trying to sell it. He hadn’t expected to find anything there. He didn’t have a solid description of the pen, for one. And it was hard to imagine someone hawking a pen, of all things. He knew the kinds of items that were in the Murphys’ home. He couldn’t imagine someone going for the pen when they could’ve taken a painting or a piece of jewelry.

But there it was. A pen had been listed by a seller in their town the day after Connor’s birthday.

A seller who went by the name “J. Murphy.”

 

Zoe took one look at the site and said, “Joey didn’t make this page.”

Evan nodded automatically. She sounded so certain that it was hard to imagine she could be wrong.

“I didn’t think so,” Evan said quietly. “I, uh... The page is still active. The person listed a watch this morning.”

Evan took a step back to stand next to Jared while Zoe and Connor continued scrolling through the listings.

He tried not to watch them. He tried not to think about how weird it was that Zoe was in his house again. He tried not think about how weird it was that Connor had brought her with him.

He was suddenly very glad that his mother had sent Jared to babysit him. It would’ve felt so much worse if he’d been alone when they showed up.

“Is that your pen?” Evan finally asked.

Connor nodded absentmindedly. He glanced at Zoe out of the corner of his eye. “You think it’s Josh?”

Zoe rolled her eyes. “Duh. Who else would do this?”

“Okay,” Connor said. “Can you go see him?”

“Me?” Zoe frowned.

“I’m not talking to him. Not after...”

“Right,” Zoe mumbled. “Do you really think he’ll give me the pen though? You know how Josh is.”

“Who’s Josh?” Jared wondered.

“Our cousin,” Zoe replied. She straightened herself up as she gazed at Jared thoughtfully. “What we need is someone to go and buy the pen from him. And it can’t be Evan. Josh may be a moron, but he’s smart enough to know who Evan is.”

Jared blinked when he got her meaning. “I don’t have that kind of money. It’s no wonder he hasn’t been able to sell it. Does he really expect someone to cough up that much for a pen?”

“We’ll give you the money,” Zoe assured him. “That’s not a problem.”

“It won’t work,” Evan said quietly. He scratched his neck when the others turned to face him. “I’ve seen this kind of thing before. He’s been listing the pen for almost a year at an insanely high price. It took me two minutes to find it. It would’ve taken even less if I’d had an actual description of the pen.”

Connor narrowed his eyes but didn’t bother responding.

“So, what’re you saying?” Zoe asked.

“I’m saying he’s after something other than money. He’ll keep raising the price until he gets what he wants. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s looking for attention. This is the kind of thing people do when they’re trying to smoke out an ex.”

Connor nodded slightly. “He’s trying to get to me, to get me to contact him.”

“That’s not happening,” Zoe said quickly. She turned to glare at Evan. “There has to be something else we can do. Can’t you think of something else?”

Evan hesitated before speaking again. “That depends.”

“On what?”

“On how badly you want that pen.”

 

Evan had endured his share of awkward car rides.

The road trip to his mother’s cousin’s wedding when he was five? The one where his parents weren’t speaking because of something his father had done? Bad.

The drive home from school when he was twelve? The one where his mother couldn’t stop looking at him and asking why the guidance counselor thought he wasn’t talking to the other kids? Terrible.

The drive to and from the press conference where his mother announced her resignation? Awful for so many reasons he didn’t even know where to start.

The ride to Josh Murphy’s college was very quickly working its way up that list. Maybe not to the top, but it was holding its own against Evan’s memories.

The car was packed and silent. Evan ended up squashed in the middle of the backseat between Jared and Henry, who were apparently determined to give each other the silent treatment for reasons that Evan didn’t really want to know. 

He was already regretting the decision to bring Henry along. They’d decided that the plan would work better if Zoe had at least two people in her entourage and Henry had met all of the qualifications. He didn’t have any plans that night. He wouldn’t breathe a word of this to anyone because he didn’t know what was going on. He didn’t care what was going on. At all. Not even a little bit. He was just excited that he was being given the chance to put his acting skills to use.

Evan kind of wished Jared had mentioned that he wasn’t speaking to his brother before they went and picked Henry up though.

Zoe wasn’t talking because she was still mad at Evan, didn’t know Jared and Henry, and was annoyed that Connor had insisted they take his car. 

Evan didn’t want to watch Zoe and Connor. He didn’t want to watch as they silently argued over the radio. He couldn’t help it though. They were in front of him, right in front of him. 

It was a familiar sight. Not totally familiar, but familiar enough that it made Evan feel kind of sad.

Connor didn’t look like Joey. Not really anyway. They resembled each other enough that it was easy to see they were related, but they hadn’t been the kind of brothers that people were always mixing up. 

This wasn’t one of those things where Evan thought he was looking at Joey if he moved his head really fast.

It wasn’t fun though. It was awkward and uncomfortable and he was definitely taking a window seat on the drive back. He didn’t care if it meant that Jared and Henry would spend two hours elbowing each other and groaning in agony.

Evan’s phone buzzed as a text popped up. He shook his head when he saw that it was Jared. Again.

_On a scale from 1 to 10, how much is your mom going to kill me for going along with this?_

Evan turned to his left and silently held up both hands.

_She can’t have me thrown in jail still, can she?_

Evan shook his head and looked away.

_I’ll pay you 100 bucks if you punch Henry in the gut right now._

Evan snorted and watched as Henry continued his breathing exercises.

Henry paused in mid-stretch and squinted at them. “You guys are texting each other, aren’t you?”

“Nothing gets past you, does it?” Jared retorted.

Henry made a face and immediately went back to his breathing. 

Evan shut his eyes as he tried to get more comfortable. It was hard. The breathing exercises Henry had learned in his acting class were taking up a lot of room.

He grabbed his phone and texted Jared. _Since when do foot models need to be able to act?_

Jared grinned at him when he hit send. _Henry says he needs to be able to emote with his feet._

Evan didn’t know what to say to that.

 

Connor lit a cigarette as soon as the others were gone. Evan coughed, maybe a bit louder than was really necessary, and left the car without saying a word.

He would have been annoyed except it actually simplified things for him. His heart had been pounding since they’d reached Josh’s school. 

The thought of waiting in the car with Connor, of having to decide whether to make awkward chitchat or remain silent, had made him dizzy.

He liked to think he was done being that person. The guy who got nervous around other people. The guy whose anxiety controlled his actions. The guy who preferred to panic and run away whenever possible.

He knew he wasn’t done being that way though. He wasn’t sure if he ever would be.

The therapy helped. The medication helped. His friendship with Joey had helped. So had his relationship with Zoe. Working for his mother and dealing with the public on a regular basis made him find ways to get by.

Being forced into a position where he had to choose whether to give up or fight back had made him find a strength he hadn’t known he had.

He was still that person though. That awkward, anxious person. He knew that and he accepted it. 

It helped that he knew he wasn’t always that way. There were times where he genuinely wasn’t and times where he put on an act. 

He was willing to bet he was a better actor than Henry and he hadn’t even taken any lessons. 

Maybe he should pursue acting as a career. 

The thought made him want to laugh.

He found a picnic table and sat down. The dorm in front of him was all lit up. He watched as students stumbled out into the night. It was easy for him to guess where they were going, to tell the difference between the ones who were heading to the library and the ones who were on their way to a party.

Somewhere inside the dorm, Zoe was trying to track down her cousin with the help of her two-person entourage. He hoped that went smoothly, that she found Josh and convinced him to hand over the pen in exchange for a wad of cash and a promise to let him appear in her next video. 

Because that was something Evan remembered hearing about Josh. He remembered Joey telling him about his annoying cousin who wanted to be famous.

Evan didn’t get that at all. He’d gotten enough media attention to last him a lifetime and beyond.

He yawned as he leaned back against the table and stared up at the trees.

It was a pretty campus. He had never considered going there, but he was starting to think it might be worth it for the trees alone.

There was a time when that would’ve been a major selling point for him. It still was, to some extent, but he wasn’t as into trees as he had once been. 

It was kind of scary in a way. He no longer knew what direction he wanted his life to go in. It no longer felt like it was a given that he would go into science.

He didn’t know if he wanted to become a PI like his mother, but the idea had been floating around his brain for a couple months. It was definitely something he was considering.

He didn’t know how she’d feel about that. He wasn’t sure if she’d be excited at the prospect or if she’d try to discourage him.

She’d probably try to discourage him. He had a feeling she didn’t want this life for him.

 

The bench sagged as Connor joined him. Evan stopped squinting at the trees long enough to blink at him.

“You could’ve just asked me to put it out,” Connor said.

“It’s your car... your body,” Evan shrugged.

They sat like that for a minute. Evan continued to alternate between staring at the trees and people-watching. Connor’s fingers danced along his thighs while he rocked back and forth restlessly.

“You okay?” Evan finally asked.

“Last time I was here...” Connor started. His mouth snapped shut and he tilted his head at the dorm. “You don’t think they can see us in there, do you?”

Evan shook his head. “It’s too dark and that bush is blocking their view. At most, they might be able to see as far as the statue over there.”

He laughed when he saw Connor’s expression. “My mom-”

“Right,” Connor cut in sharply.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Evan offered. “Whatever it is?”

Connor didn’t say anything for a moment. His hands went still on his knees and he took a breath. “Did Joey talk about me?”

Evan glanced at him quickly. “Um, yeah... Sometimes.”

Connor looked at him expectantly.

“He didn’t say much. He just... You were his brother. He mentioned you sometimes.”

“He told you I was crazy?”

“No,” Evan shook his head adamantly. “He-”

“That I was a mess? That I-”

“He didn’t say things like that.”

“That I was a pain in his ass?”

“No. Zoe’s the one who said that.” Evan bit his lip when he realized what he’d said. He relaxed when he saw that Connor was laughing.

“You miss him, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded.

Connor tilted his head to stare at the sky. “Me too.”

 

The lights were on in Evan’s house when they returned. He felt his stomach drop when he realized what that meant.

His mother was home. She had cut her trip short because she was worried about him.

His heart started to race as he got out of the car. He didn’t need to look at the house to know that she was watching them, that she could see whose car he’d been in.

He should’ve known that the trip home had gone too smoothly. He’d sat up front because Connor told him to. Zoe hadn’t been happy about that, but Connor told her that was what she got for messing with his music.

Evan had almost felt sorry for her because he knew how hard it was to be sandwiched between Jared and Henry. She’d handled it better than he had though. She’d ended up elbowing both brothers in the ribs when they kicked her during what had to be the most violent ankle war Evan had ever seen. 

She’d elbowed them hard enough that they were both still poking at their sides as they climbed out of the car.

“Is your mom...” Jared started. 

Evan looked him in the eye and nodded.

“Bye!” Jared squeaked. He grabbed Henry’s arm and dragged him to their car.

Evan waved at the Murphys before heading up to the house. 

He wasn’t surprised when his mother opened the door for him. He wasn’t surprised to see that her bags were still in the hall, that her keys were still in her hand.

“You just got in?” Evan asked lightly.

She didn’t say anything. Her silence was terrifying in a way Evan never would have expected it to be.

“So, good news, we found the pen. They haven’t paid me yet, but I know you’ll want to collect a portion of it when they do since I...” Evan stopped speaking when she started prodding him towards the kitchen.

He took a seat when she gestured at the table. He glanced up at her uncertainly. “Mom?”

She sat down across from him and folded her hands in front of her. “I think it’s time for us to talk about the Joey Murphy case.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Zoe said hi to me.”

Evan jumped when he heard Jared creep up behind him. He jumped and came dangerously close to smacking his head on his locker door.

Luckily, Jared didn’t seem to notice his clumsiness. He was too busy watching the group that was gathering by Zoe’s locker.

“She said my name and everything.” Jared wrinkled his nose as a thought occurred to him. “Okay, so she also asked if my ribs are still sore, but there are now people who know that Zoe Murphy knows who I am.”

Evan rubbed his eyes and shut his locker. He was too tired for this. For any of this.

“Right, so that’s not really exciting for you, is it? Been there, done that, right?” Jared frowned when Evan still didn’t respond. “What’s your problem?”

Evan made a point of yawning and stretching. “I’m tired.”

“Oh,” Jared nodded. “I hope you’re not too tired to go to the library after school.”

Evan narrowed his eyes at Jared. It really was way too early for this. “What? Why?”

“Because Alana just gave us a case.”

“She... What?” Evan could feel himself blinking rapidly. “Since when do you accept cases for us?” He paused and shook his head. “Since when is there an us?”

Jared folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the lockers. “Uh-uh. Not this again.”

“Not what again?” Evan stifled a yawn with the back of his hand. 

He really should’ve stayed home that day. His mother would’ve covered for him if he’d asked. It was the least she could do. He kind of felt like she owed him.

Of course, he realized she may look at it differently. She probably thought she’d done him a favor by dumping all that info on him.

“This isn’t going to be the video thing again,” Jared said firmly. 

“The...” Evan sighed when he realized where Jared was coming from. “I’m not trying to push you out. I didn’t realize you thought we-”

“I’ve helped you twice now,” Jared reminded him. 

“One of those times was for your brother.”

“And I did all the heavy lifting this weekend. You got to sit around and do nothing.”

Evan rubbed his forehead as the first bell rang. “That doesn’t mean-”

“People know who I am now,” Jared said quietly. “You’re not taking that away again.”

Evan shut his eyes and nodded slightly. “Fine. What’s the case?”

 

The case was simple. Almost ridiculously simple, Evan thought.

Someone was vandalizing books in the library. It had been going on for weeks and people were starting to get upset.

Alana had gone to Jared to see if they could help catch the culprit. She’d already helped devise a plan. The librarians had made it known that they’d acquired an extremely rare manuscript. There was already a decoy book in place. 

All they needed was to have someone keep an eye on things. Someone who didn’t work for the library. Someone who could blend in with the crowd.

Alana had said they wouldn’t be paid, but she could arrange for them to get volunteer hours for their work. She was the student volunteer coordinator at the library. Apparently, that was something she extremely was proud of.

Evan decided to let Jared do the heavy lifting again. They went to the library after school and camped out at separate tables. Jared took one that was close to the book, but not so close that it was obvious he was watching it.

Evan sat down by the window, at a table where he could theoretically help oversee things but was really using to go through the attachment his mother had sent him.

He wasn’t sure if the attachment contained everything his mother thought she knew about the Joey Murphy case. Evan kind of suspected it didn’t. 

It didn’t tell him anything new. She’d already covered it all when they’d talked the other night. 

Seeing it in writing made it feel official though. Evan wasn’t sure if he liked that.

He could see why she’d panicked when she saw that he was with Connor and Zoe though. He could finally understand why she’d been convinced that the Murphys were hiding something.

None of their alibis were nearly as sound as the press had made them seem.

None of them except for Zoe. Because she had been with Evan when Joey was killed. 

Because what better alibi could you ask for? She’d been in the sheriff’s house with the sheriff’s son. His mother had been there too until she got the call about Joey.

The part of Evan’s brain that was prone to coming up with conspiracy theories wondered if that was just a coincidence. He suspected that his mother had thought the same thing. He remembered how she’d questioned him after the murder. How she’d asked him if he’d had plans with Zoe that day, if she’d called or texted to tell him she was coming over, if she often showed up unexpectedly.

The answer to all of those questions had been no.

Evan couldn’t imagine Zoe being a part of her brother’s death though. She’d loved Joey. They’d been the closest pair of siblings he’d ever seen. And not in a creepy way. In a nice, wholesome, Hallmark Channel movie kind of way.

It was hard to imagine her parents being involved either, but Evan could see why his mother didn’t buy their alibis.

Cynthia Murphy had been out with friends. Her friends had vouched for her, but their stories had been all over the place at first. The initial interviews were a mess. It was an understatement to say they were barely coherent. Her friends had all eventually blamed that on either alcohol or grief, but the fact remained that they weren’t strong enough to prove that Cynthia had been with them.

That had changed later, of course. By the time the lawyers got involved, by the time the press got involved, the stories sounded rock solid and all records of the initial interviews were deemed inadmissible.

Larry Murphy had been at work. His colleagues could attest to that. The security cameras at his firm clearly showed him coming and going at times that would have made it impossible for him to kill his son.

Except the cameras were maintained by Murphy Tech, the company owned by Larry’s brother. Except that there had been early reports of an argument that Joey and Larry had had in front of the building two days before Joey was killed.

That story had changed too. By the second round of interviews, the witnesses who had mentioned seeing the father and son fighting had changed their tune. They had explained that they’d been mistaken. Larry and Joey hadn’t been arguing at all. They’d been cheering about an article they’d found on the local baseball team.

And then there was Connor.

Connor who had been the one to find Joey. Connor who had then gone into shock and been unable to move for hours.

Connor who was known to get angry when he wasn’t sober. Angry and violent.

Connor who had been admitted into a treatment program immediately after his brother’s funeral.

Connor whose alibi was practically non-existent. 

Connor had supposedly been at the grocery store when Joey was killed. They didn’t have a receipt to prove it because he’d paid in cash and hadn’t bothered keeping the slip. The store’s cameras (also maintained by Murphy Tech) had been malfunctioning that day, but at least two employees swore they remembered seeing Connor there. 

The kitchen had been stocked when Heidi checked it, but Connor hadn’t been able to tell her what he’d bought. His parents had assured her that was because the shock of finding his brother had made him forget. Heidi had decided not pursue that angle any farther, but Evan could tell his mother had her doubts.

Evan could see what his mother had meant when she’d said things didn’t add up. The more Evan read, the more inconsistencies he found. 

The more he was convinced that Sheriff Henderson hadn’t arrested the right guy.

 

Except it was possible that Ricky Donahoe really had done it.

He’d confessed to killing Joey. Why would he do that if he wasn’t guilty?

And he had a motive. His son had died as a result of lead poisoning. Larry Murphy had represented the Donahoes’ landlord in the case.

The case that had resulted in what even Evan could tell was a disturbingly low settlement deal.

So, it was easy to understand why Ricky Donahoe was upset. It was easy to imagine him taking that anger and deciding to make Larry Murphy suffer the way he had.

Except Joey had been killed by a blow to the head.

Evan had heard his mother talk about these things enough to know that Joey’s death didn’t seem like it had been premeditated. It seemed like the kind of thing that someone did in the moment while seriously pissed off.

It seemed personal. 

The way he was struck, the way his body was left, it all seemed personal.

Evan had to agree with his mother on that.

Except he still couldn’t imagine anyone in Joey’s family killing him. Not really anyway.

He couldn’t imagine Zoe being an evil mastermind who had arranged for someone to take out her brother.

He couldn’t imagine Larry or Cynthia Murphy killing their son. 

They were nice. They’d always been nice to Evan when he’d come to their house. 

And, okay, maybe they were a bit distant at times. Evan had gathered that from the jokes and comments that Joey and Zoe had made. 

He couldn’t picture either of them murdering Joey though. He couldn’t picture either of them getting angry enough that they were capable of striking him that way.

And Connor...

Okay, so Connor was by far the most likely suspect in Evan’s mind.

He knew Connor had a temper. He knew Connor had a tendency to lose control. He knew Connor didn’t always remember things clearly.

But it was hard to imagine Connor caring enough about Joey to kill him.

Of course, there was always the possibility that Connor had been so hopped up on something that he didn’t know what he was doing.

But there was a confessed killer rotting away in jail. 

And Evan knew his mother would have noticed if Connor was high when she saw him that night. She would have made sure the house was searched for bloody clothes.

She wouldn’t have focused her investigation on Larry Murphy.

Except, had she really?

The press had claimed she had, but Evan wasn’t getting that impression from her notes.

Evan didn’t know what to think. He didn’t even know what he wanted to think.

He just knew he needed to stop thinking about it or he’d never get any sleep.

 

Evan instinctively shut his laptop when he sensed someone sitting down across from him. He looked up and blinked and rubbed his eyes.

Connor. Of course, it was Connor. He hoped and prayed that his face didn’t betray him.

“Did you do all this Hardy Boys shit with Joey too?” Connor wondered. He looked over his shoulder to nod at Jared, who was not even trying to be subtle as he watched a pair of freshmen circle the decoy book.

“What?” Evan gasped. He cleared his throat and stared down at his laptop. It had been angled away from everyone, so there was no way Connor could have seen what he’d been reading, right? Right. He told himself that was right.

“Uh, no,” Evan stammered. “I, uh... I didn’t start doing this stuff until after...”

“Oh,” Connor nodded. “He would’ve liked it though, wouldn’t he?”

Evan glanced up when he heard how uncertain Connor sounded. “Yeah, he would’ve.”

“I thought so,” Connor muttered.

Connor opened his mouth like he wanted to say more, but he changed his mind and leaned back in the chair instead.

Evan was suddenly struck with the thought that was Connor was using him to learn more about the brother he’d never bothered getting to know. The thought made him feel sad and kind of confused.

Was that something that a murderer would bother doing? 

Maybe if he didn’t know that he was a murderer. Maybe if was trying to turn over a new leaf. Maybe...

Evan sat up straight when he realized that Connor was watching something. 

There was a lot of commotion on the floor. It took Evan a second to notice that Jared was in the middle of it.

Because of course he was.

Evan stood up and threw his laptop back into his bag. He could hear Connor behind him as he hurried over to see what was going on.

One of the librarians was standing next to the freshmen and glaring at Sheriff Henderson and his wife. “Why are you here? We didn’t call the police!”

“Calm down, Jamie. Take a breath,” Mrs. Henderson said soothingly. “We’ve been getting a lot of calls about-”

“That’s crap and you know it,” Jamie sputtered. “You’re not using this to boost your husband’s arrest record right before the election.”

Mrs. Henderson’s smile wavered ever so slightly. “This is a public library. Tom is a public servant. Let him do his job.”

“We’re handling this internally,” Jamie maintained. “We won’t be pressing any charges.”

“They destroyed-”

“I know what they did,” Jamie snapped. “I also know that you’ve been slithering around here for days, waiting for this to go down. You are not using this to help your husband keep his job.”

The room fell silent for a minute as the two women stared each other down. Evan let out an awkward-sounding cough and cringed at the sound.

“Evan,” Sheriff Henderson greeted coolly. 

“Deputy,” Evan nodded. He looked away when both Hendersons turned to glare at him. 

“I’m serious, Amy,” Jamie said quietly. “There’s nothing for you to do here.”

Mrs. Henderson squared her shoulders and looked around at the group that was surrounding them. Her face softened dramatically when her eyes landed on Connor. “Oh, you must be-”

“One of our student volunteers,” Jamie cut in sharply.

Mrs. Henderson put a hand to her chest before she stepped forward to squeeze Connor’s arm. “I’m so sorry about your brother. It really was such a tragedy.”

“Would you please stop molesting my nephew?” Jamie said shortly.

Mrs. Henderson immediately dropped her arm and scowled at Jamie. “Why would you say that?”

“I call it like I see it,” Jamie shrugged. She turned to face the freshmen. “Alana, would you please take these boys to my office? We need to have a little talk.”

Jared went to follow Alana out, so Evan decided to do the same. 

“Hey,” Jared said quickly as he fell into step with her. “So, we’re done, right? We can leave?”

“You’ll only get one volunteer hour if you leave now,” Alana said swiftly.

Jared looked at Evan and shrugged. “Oh. So, are there any other cases you need help with?”

“No, but you can go help Connor shelve books in the children’s section.”

Evan followed her gaze and shook his head. “I’ll pass.”

The thought of staying in the library, of working with Connor, of being someplace where the Hendersons could come up to him and ask about his mother, did not sound appealing to Evan at all.

“Me too,” Jared decided.

They said goodbye to Alana when they passed the entrance and headed outside.

“So, what now?” Jared asked eagerly. “You have any other cases that need solving?”

“No, but there’s a huge stack of filing with my name on it.”

“Oh,” Jared mumbled. “You need help?”

“We can’t afford to put you on the payroll.” Evan snorted when he saw the glint in Jared’s eye. “And I doubt our school will let it count towards your volunteer hours.”

Jared wrinkled his nose and nodded to himself. “Okay. I’ll come anyway.” He shrugged when Evan tilted his head at him. “What? Anything’s better than going home right now. Henry’s rehearsing for a photo shoot tomorrow.”

“Enough said...” Evan winced.


	8. Chapter 8

Evan dropped the camera on the passenger seat and slid down as far as he could. His heart was beating so fast that he wondered if it would explode.

He waited and breathed and counted to thirty before he decided that it was safe to look out the window again.

They were gone.

A wave of relief washed over him when he saw that the street was empty.

He grabbed his phone and called his mother.

“Hey, sweetie,” Heidi answered. “You done?”

“I got the shot,” Evan said quickly. “I thought he saw me for a second, but...”

He shut his eyes and pushed back against the headrest. 

“Evan?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay? Do I need to come get you?”

Evan shook his head even though she couldn’t see him. He didn’t want to stay there. He didn’t want to wait while she got an Uber and rode across town to find him.

“I-I don’t like this part of the job.”

Heidi breathed in quickly. “I know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked you to do it. I didn’t think it’d take this long. He must’ve been in there for hours.”

Evan nodded rapidly as he eyed the strip club. “Yeah. He was.”

“Well, you can go home now.” Heidi paused a moment. “Don’t take Eager Street. Make sure you stick to the main roads.”

“When will you be back?”

“My target hasn’t moved all night, so don’t wait up. Just leave the porch light on so I can see.”

“Okay,” Evan muttered. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Call me when you get in.”

“I will,” Evan promised.

He hung up the phone and tried to steady his breathing again. He jumped when he heard a text alert go off. 

_I just spent the whole night helping my mom clip coupons. This is all your fault._

Evan rolled his eyes when he saw Jared’s text. _You could’ve gone without me._

_You know I couldn’t have done that._

Evan couldn’t blame him. There was no way he would’ve gone to Connor’s birthday party alone. There was no way he would’ve gone at all, even if he hadn’t had to work.

 _I doubt we missed anything worth missing._

Jared’s response was almost instantaneous. _Rub it in, why don’t you?_

Evan frowned and shook his head. _What?_

_You’ve been to things like this before and I haven’t. No need to brag._

Evan squeezed his eyes shut as he resisted the urge to ignore Jared. _I wasn’t bragging. I have to go though. I’m afraid I’ll get mugged if I stay here any longer._

Evan’s phone buzzed again, but he decided to ignore it. 

The drive home was quick and mildly terrifying. There weren’t many other drivers on the road, but the ones that were out were speeding and behaving recklessly. Evan was relieved when he finally reached his house. He was relieved until he looked up and saw that the house was dark.

That wasn’t a surprise. He’d been the last one there and he’d known that he’d forgotten to leave a light on. It was unnerving when he saw what looked like a person sitting on the steps though.

Evan grabbed his phone and checked it. He kind of hoped there was a text from Jared saying that he was coming over to yell at Evan in person. 

That wasn’t the case though. Jared’s last text had simply mocked the idea that Evan had anything worth stealing.

Evan pulled the stun gun out of his bag and held it up while he crept towards the house. His fears were confirmed when the figure on the steps stood up.

The figure raised his hands in surrender. “Hey, stand down. It’s me.”

Evan didn’t lower his weapon. His face twisted as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. “I see that.”

“So, you think you can put that thing down?”

Evan lowered the stun gun slightly. “What’re you doing here?”

“You didn’t come to my party,” Connor said plainly.

Evan blinked at that. “I didn’t say I was going.”

He shook his head. He didn’t know which part of this was stranger – the part where Connor had invited him to his birthday party or the part where Connor cared so much about the fact that he hadn’t shown up that he decided to track Evan down in the middle of the night.

“You said you’d try,” Connor reminded him.

Evan nodded absentmindedly. He had said that. He hadn’t meant it, but he had definitely said it.

“I had to work,” Evan finally shrugged.

He eyed his house warily. He could hear Ranger whimpering by the door. “I have to go feed my dog.”

“Is that a euphemism for something?” Connor snorted.

“What? No. I...” Evan rolled his eyes when he saw that Connor was laughing at him. 

Evan fumbled with his keys while he crossed the porch. He could hear Connor behind him. 

This was awkward. Awkward and kind of scary. Evan didn’t know if he should invite Connor in. He didn’t want to invite Connor in.

He didn’t think Connor was dangerous. Not really anyway. The more he thought about it, the more he convinced himself that he was being paranoid. There wasn’t some huge conspiracy going on. Connor almost definitely had not killed Joey. Evan didn’t think that he would be putting his life at risk if he let Connor come inside.

That didn’t mean that he thought it was a good idea to ask him in though.

Connor made the decision for him when he followed Evan in without waiting to be asked.

Evan patted Ranger on the head and led the way to the kitchen.

“So, was it Zoe or my parents?”

Evan glanced over his shoulder as he opened a can for Ranger. “What?”

“Did you decide not to come because of Zoe or my parents?”

Evan took a breath and looked down. He thought it was interesting that Connor hadn’t included himself in that question. He didn’t know what to think of that. Did Connor think they were friends? He obviously thought they got along well enough that he could just walk up to Evan at school and invite him to his party.

He obviously thought they were friendly enough that he could randomly show up at Evan’s house at one o’clock in the morning.

“I had to-” Evan started. He felt like cursing when his phone began to ring.

He’d forgotten to call his mom. He should’ve called her the second he’d walked in. He knew how she was, how she set a timer and calculated exactly how long it should take him to get somewhere.

“Evan?” Heidi said breathlessly before he’d even said hello.

“Sorry,” Evan hissed. He ducked his head so that he wasn’t facing Connor. “I forgot to call. Ranger was hungry and-”

“Which way does the bluebird fly?”

“To the north, then the south,” Evan recited.

“Okay,” Heidi sighed. “Remind me to come up with a new code tomorrow.”

Evan promised he would and disconnected the call.

The code thing was something they’d done since he was a kid. It was a secret way for him to communicate that he was in trouble.

He’d never actually had to use it, but it was comforting to know he could.

Connor was staring at him when he turned around again.

“You didn’t tell her I’m here,” Connor said quietly.

“Uh, no,” Evan chuckled anxiously. “I, uh-”

“She doesn’t like me, does she?”

Evan looked at him strangely. “She doesn’t know you.”

Evan thought about adding that he barely knew Connor, but that didn’t seem like the right thing to say. Even he knew that.

Connor didn’t say anything for a minute. He leaned against the counter and stared blankly at the sink. “She thought that I killed Joey, didn’t she?”

Evan coughed as he choked on his spit. He bought himself a second by opening the refrigerator and studying its contents. “I-I don’t know... Are you hungry? I haven’t eaten anything tonight except a bag of chips.”

“My parents thought she did.”

Evan pulled out a box of slightly questionable pizza and gave it a sniff. “She didn’t really talk to me about the case because... You know. Because I was so close to it.”

Connor’s face went blank at that. Evan looked away quickly, but his eyes landed on Connor’s hands before he turned to grab a plate.

“What did you do?” Evan asked curiously.

Connor glanced at his hands and shrugged. “I hit a wall.”

“You...” Evan blinked as he looked at Connor’s bloody knuckles again. “Why?”

“Because I was mad.”

“At the wall?”

Connor rolled his eyes. “At my parents. They were being assholes tonight.”

“Oh,” Evan nodded slightly. “We have some first-aid ointment in the bathroom upstairs if you want to clean it up.”

He watched Connor out of the corner of his eye while he heated up the pizza. He didn’t think that Connor was high or drunk or under the influence of something.

He knew what that looked like. He’d heard enough stories to feel like he did anyway.

And Connor wasn’t acting at all like he had the two times Evan had seen him high. He wasn’t ranting and raving like he had been at Joey’s funeral. And he definitely wasn’t on the verge of passing out like he had been when Evan helped fetch him from the pier.

“Zoe already tried to patch me up. She put something on my hand before we left.”

“Oh,” Evan muttered.

Connor frowned when Evan pulled his plate out of the microwave. “You didn’t heat up a piece for me?”

Evan’s mouth dropped open as he gawked at the plate. “Oh, uh... Here. You can have-”

“That was a joke,” Connor smirked.

“Oh, okay...” Evan tried not to feel self-conscious as he took a bite of the pizza. “So, what did your parents do to make you hit a wall?”

“They want to throw Zoe a birthday party next month.”

Evan tilted his head at that. Zoe had a party every year. He knew that for a fact. “And that’s a bad thing?”

“She doesn’t want one,” Connor said quietly. “It’s her first year without Joey. She doesn’t want to do anything that day.”

Evan swallowed dryly and reached for his water. He could definitely understand why she didn’t feel up to celebrating her birthday.

“They kept ignoring her when she told them that. It was bad enough when they refused to listen to me. I didn’t want a fucking party either, but this is worse. My party was just a lame excuse for them to have people over and schmooze. Zoe’s would be yet another chance for them to celebrate Joey’s life.”

Evan didn’t know what to say to that. It didn’t sound like a bad thing to him, but he had a feeling he was missing something.

“That’s all they do,” Connor continued. “My mom keeps reading all these books about how you should focus on the deceased person’s life, not their death. And my dad keeps humoring her.”

Evan still didn’t know what to say, so he said the first thing to pop into his head. “And that’s why you punched a wall?”

“And that’s why I punched a wall,” Connor nodded. “I just... I got frustrated about the party and... and them. They won’t talk about it. They change the subject every time someone mentions what happened to Joey because my mom can’t deal and Zoe falls apart if it comes up.”

Evan glanced at him in surprise. “And you want to talk about it?”

“I want to be able to talk about it... I want the option of talking about it with someone besides my shrink.”

Evan put down his pizza and looked up as Connor checked his phone.

“Zoe’s staying at Nicole’s tonight.”

“Okay?” Evan said hesitantly. 

“I thought she was just going for a drive to clear her head. That’s what I was doing before I...”

“Decided to find out why I skipped your party?”

Connor closed his eyes for a moment. “Joey used to say your house was like a safe haven.”

That statement made Evan’s heart do a flip in his chest. Joey had never said that to him. Not in those words at least. He’d said that he liked how quiet Evan’s house was. Which was kind of funny because Evan used to hate the quiet. He’d liked going to Joey’s house where there were people around. Where there were parents around. Parents who cooked dinner and didn’t work crazy hours.

Evan breathed in quickly when he saw Connor’s expression. It was obvious that Connor didn’t want to go home. That he’d come to Evan’s house because he needed to get away from his own. That he didn’t have anywhere else he could go.

Evan could relate.

“You want to watch something?” Evan offered. 

“Sure,” Connor shrugged.

“Something light,” Evan decided. “How about _The Good Place_?” He wrinkled his nose when he realized what he’d said. “Or maybe something that isn’t about the afterlife. _Parks and Rec_?”

Connor shrugged again and started towards the living room.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Evan said quickly. He picked up his phone and nodded at it. “I have to, uh...”

Connor’s eyes narrowed when he got Evan’s meaning. He left the room without saying a word.

Evan sighed and dialed his mom. He was tempted to text her that Connor was there, but he knew that would be a disaster. She’d drop everything and tear across town to check on them.

No, this was the kind of thing he actually had to say out loud. To say it in a way that would keep her from panicking.

He wasn’t sure if that was possible, but he was going to have to try.

He took a breath when she picked up. “Hey, so, uh, there’s something you should know...”


	9. Chapter 9

It was an unseasonably warm day.

Evan knew it was an unseasonably warm day because that was the kind of thing he would have noticed before Joey. It was the kind of thing he would’ve noticed and stored away and tried to work up the nerve to say to whatever unsuspecting person happened to cross his path.

He wasn’t feeling the need to talk about the weather that day though. He wasn’t feeling the need to talk to anyone about anything.

He wasn’t eating his lunch in the courtyard because he wanted to be social. He was eating there because it was way too nice to eat in the library and the landscapers were working on the garden he usually sat in when he ate outside.

He claimed a table for himself. An entire table. Because he didn’t care what his classmates thought of that. He was trying really hard not to care about that. He was trying really hard not to notice the fact that there were people glancing at him and snickering.

A year ago, he would’ve had a seat at the table Zoe and her friends were sitting at. Joey would’ve made sure he did. Joey would’ve made someone move if there wasn’t room. He would’ve elbowed the person next to him and glared and asked why they were sitting in Evan’s seat.

Joey was gone though, so Evan sat at a table by himself.

He sat by himself until Alana threw herself onto the bench across from and hissed, “Pretend we’re talking.”

Evan couldn’t help blinking at the demand. “What?”

Alana threw her head back and let out an excessively loud laugh. She tilted her head slightly before straightening up so that she was facing the tree behind Evan. “Don’t look!”

“What?” Evan asked again. He really, truly had no idea what he wasn’t supposed to be looking at.

“Don’t let them see you looking,” Alana whispered. She took a breath and pulled a paper bag out of her backpack. Evan continued to blink as she unpacked her lunch.

“What is-”

“Are they watching me?” Alana asked excitedly.

“Um,” Evan stammered. He glanced around wildly before dropping his gaze. “Tracy is, maybe? I don’t know.”

Alana beamed as she straightened herself up. “Tracy? Really?”

“What’s-”

“Don’t look,” Alana yelped again. “Why do you keep looking at them?”

Evan was beginning to feel like he’d slipped into some kind of alternate universe. He could feel his face relax when he saw Jared approaching them. He didn’t think he’d ever been so relieved to see Jared in his life.

Jared’s face scrunched up as he set his tray down to Evan. “Is it just me or does this pizza look like someone ran over it with a truck? Like a big rig truck. Not some puny little pickup truck.”

“Did you hear what they were saying?” Alana asked quickly.

“Who?” Jared frowned.

Alana rolled her eyes. “You two are useless.”

Evan shrugged when Jared looked at him quizzically. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be some kind of spy?” Alana wondered.

“I work part-time at my mom’s detective agency,” Evan said. “I’m not a spy.”

“Oh,” Alana nodded. “That’s good because you’re not very good at watching people covertly.”

“I am when I’m being paid,” Evan muttered.

Jared snorted as he took a bite of his pizza. He groaned and threw it back on his tray. “Why do I always expect it to be better than this? Isn’t that, like, the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?”

“That’s a myth.”

All three of them jumped as Connor suddenly slid onto the bench next to Evan.

“What?” Jared frowned.

“That’s not the definition of insanity.”

“Well, you would know,” Jared smirked.

Connor narrowed his eyes at Jared but didn’t bother responding.

Evan reached into his bag and pulled out his string cheese. So much for his quiet lunch by himself. He supposed he should be happy that the people staring at him no longer had a reason to stare.

It was weird though. It wasn’t unusual for Jared to sit with him at lunch. He didn’t know why Alana had sat with him, but he could tell it had something to do with the people sitting at Tracy’s table.

And Connor... Evan didn’t know why he was in the courtyard. As far as he could tell, Connor always disappeared during lunch. Evan couldn’t imagine what had driven him outside until Zoe popped up behind him and sat down.

“Did you really think you were going to avoid talking about this by sitting at Evan’s table?” Zoe demanded.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Connor shrugged.

“We need to strategize before we go home.”

“I’m not campaigning. I’m not even going to the fucking homecoming dance. So, there. Problem solved.”

“Mom won’t like that,” Zoe said sharply. “You know she’s going to be all over this.”

“It should’ve been Joey.”

Zoe blinked as she stared down at her hands. “But it’s not. It’s you. You know she’s going to want us both to win because she’ll see it as a win for our family. Something to show people that we’re doing okay after... after everything.”

“I don’t get how I was even nominated,” Connor spat the words like they were poisonous. He turned to face Alana. “You’re on the homecoming committee, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Alana nodded slowly.

“How did this happen?”

Alana shook her head and looked away. “I-I don’t know.”

“Did someone mess with the results or-”

“Never underestimate the sympathy vote,” Evan said softly.

No one said anything for a minute. Evan nibbled on his cheese and studied the textbook in front of him.

“Look, let’s face it, I’m probably going to win,” Zoe said.

As far as Evan could tell, there was no probably about it. Even before Joey, before _A Song for Joey_ , Zoe would’ve been a front-runner for Homecoming Queen.

“And you have a real shot because-”

“Because of the sympathy vote,” Connor finished. He glanced at Evan and nodded.

“And because of me.” Zoe winced when he glared at her. “I’m sorry, but it’s true.”

“Can I reject the nomination?” Connor asked Alana.

“I think so?” Alana replied uncertainly. “No one has before, but I think there’s something in the rules that says you can.”

“Mom-” Zoe started.

“Screw Mom,” Connor snapped. “I don’t want any part of this.”

Connor stood up and stalked away without looking back. Zoe scrambled off the bench to chase after him.

Evan glanced around at the others before shrugging and flipping to the next page in his book.

“Weird weather this week,” Alana observed.

Evan nodded automatically. “Very weird.” 

 

Olivia Ventura was leaning against Evan’s car. He stopped in the middle of the parking lot when he saw that. He stopped and looked around uncertainly.

He didn’t know what kind of car Sophie Ventura drove, but he thought it was safe to say there was no way Olivia had mistaken Evan’s car for her sister’s.

“I need a favor,” Olivia said when Evan reached the car.

Evan raised his eyebrows at her. “You need a favor?”

“Yes,” Olivia nodded swiftly. “It’s not for me, exactly. It’s for Leah.”

“Who’s Leah?”

“A girl in my Geometry class. I told her you could help her with something.”

Evan didn’t have time for this. His mother needed the car in twenty minutes. He unlocked the door and reached for the handle.

“You owe me!” Olivia yelped.

Evan spun around at that. “I’m sorry, but in what world do I owe you a favor?”

“I got grounded because you-”

“You got grounded because you posted a semi-naked picture of your sister online.”

“But my parents found out about it because of you! Because Sophie told them what I did. They grounded me and took away my laptop. They keep it locked up now. I’m only allowed to use it for schoolwork and someone has to be in the room with me the whole time.”

“That sounds fair,” Evan shrugged.

“Please,” Olivia whimpered as he reached for the handle again. “I know you know what it’s like.”

Evan paused at that. “What what’s like?”

Olivia straightened herself up and folded her arms across her chest in a way that Evan suspected she thought was intimidating. Of course, it was pretty difficult to look intimidating when you were a petite fifteen-year-old girl sporting pigtails and a unicorn t-shirt.

“I’ve heard Sophie talk about you,” Olivia smirked. “I’ve heard her say that you used to be a nobody like me. I know no one knew who you were before you became friends with Joey. I know Sophie was always asking him why he was friends with you.”

Olivia bit her lip and looked over her shoulder quickly. “This is my chance, you know. People don’t notice me. They don’t talk to me. I heard Leah telling Talia that she wished she knew who her father was and I seized my chance. I told her I know someone who can find her father.”

“I’m not a geneticist. I don’t have access to a lab or-”

“You won’t need one. I don’t think you will anyway. Leah said her mother got pregnant during her senior year of high school. Her class is having their fifteen-year reunion in two weeks, so Leah’s wondering if her dad will be there. She knows that her parents dated in high school. But that’s all she knows.”

Evan couldn’t help feeling bad for Leah. He didn’t know her, but he couldn’t imagine what that was like. At least he knew who his dad was. At least he knew where his dad was.

Evan glanced up suddenly as Olivia’s words finally sank in. “Wait, you said that Sophie used to talk to Joey about me?”

“Yeah,” Olivia nodded. “I heard them talking about you a few times.”

Evan blinked and shook his head. “When?”

“Last year,” Olivia shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t keep track of my sister’s love life.”

“Joey didn’t go out with Sophie,” Evan blurted out.

“Yeah, he did,” Olivia laughed. “For like two months.”

“You’re sure? We’re talking about the same Joey, right? Joey Murphy?”

“The dead guy,” Olivia confirmed. “Sophie cried for, like, a week when he died. They’d already broken up, but she kept sobbing and saying she thought he may have been her soulmate.”

Olivia grinned as she studied his expression. “You didn’t know? Wasn’t he your best friend?”

“Yeah,” Evan muttered.

“Hey, listen, if you help Leah, I can scan Sophie’s diary and send it to you. She keeps an actual diary. Like the old school kind. She hides it under her mattress and everything. I can send it you if you want to read about their relationship.”

Evan narrowed his eyes at her. “Don’t you think you should stop sharing your sister’s private life with people?”

“It’s not like I’m going to put it out there for everyone to read,” Olivia shrugged. “Trust me, I’ve learned that lesson.”

“I don’t want to read Sophie’s diary,” Evan said firmly.

“Okay, fine,” Olivia sighed. “But will you help Leah?”

“Bring her by my mother’s office this afternoon,” Evan decided. “Do you know where-”

“I already looked it up,” Olivia beamed. She clapped her hands excitedly before heading back towards the school.

Evan climbed into the car and sat there for a minute. He rubbed his forehead as he tried to digest what he’d learned.

It wasn’t bothering him that Joey had dated Sophie, even if it was strange. He knew that Joey had called Sophie a gossipy drama queen on more than one occasion. Not to her face, but still...

It wasn’t even bothering him that Joey had talked to Sophie about him. Sophie’s comments obviously hadn’t made a difference or Joey would have dropped him as a friend.

It was bothering him that Joey hadn’t told him about Sophie. It was bothering him that he hadn't suspected they were anything other than casual acquaintances. It was enough to make him wonder what else Joey hadn’t told him about.


	10. Chapter 10

For someone who had managed to get knocked up in high school, Celia Rye had led a surprisingly clean life.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t fair. Getting pregnant at seventeen didn’t automatically make someone a juvenile delinquent.

Celia’s squeaky-clean record was annoying Evan though. There was nothing on it. No speeding tickets, no drug busts, and definitely nothing indicating that she was receiving court-ordered child support.

Evan had been hoping to find something. Preferably a case that included several co-defendants. Leah had said that her mother had been popular before she got pregnant. Evan didn’t know what the popular kids had been up to in the early 2000s, but apparently it wasn’t illegal.

Or they’d known how to avoid getting caught.

There was nothing on any of her social media accounts either. Leah had warned him that there wouldn’t be, but Evan had had to see it for himself. As far as he could tell, Leah was right. Her mother really wasn’t keeping in touch with anyone from high school.

Evan was going to have to do this the hard way, the old-fashioned way.

He was going to need help. He waited for Alana at her locker before school the next day.

“Hey,” Evan said as he stepped to the side so she could put her jacket away. “You’re helping organize the reunions, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Alana nodded. “Why?”

“Can you get me a copy of the 2003 yearbook?”

“Did you try the library?”

“They’ve all been checked out.”

Alana’s mouth formed a thin line as she turned to face him. “I’d say you could ask the class rep, but...”

“But what?”

Alana pulled a paper out of her backpack and handed it to him.

It was a list of all of the classes holding their reunions that year and their representatives. Evan scanned the list until he found the class of 2003.

_Amy [Beckett] Henderson_

Evan sighed as he handed the sheet back to Alana. “Thanks, but yeah... I’ll have to figure out something else.” 

 

Saturn High hadn’t started publishing a digital version of the school paper until 2005, so that wasn’t any help. All the papers before that were stored in file boxes in the basement. 

Talking to Alana had been helpful after all. She was able to talk the journalism teacher into letting Evan into the archives. He headed down there after school with Jared in tow. 

“We’re getting paid for this, right?” Jared coughed into his sleeve as a cloud of dust flew into the air.

Evan didn’t respond. He didn’t even bother looking up from the stack in front of him.

Apparently, their school did not believe in keeping the archives organized.

“Oh, come on,” Jared moaned. “We’re doing this for free?”

“Leah and I didn’t discuss payment,” Evan said quietly.

“So, exactly what are we looking for?” Jared demanded.

Evan didn’t know what to say. He was starting to feel like this was a waste of time. He’d only found five papers from the time that Celia Rye would have been in school and none of them had mentioned her at all.

He should’ve asked Leah more questions. What were her mother’s extracurriculars? Was she on any teams? In any clubs? Had she done anything that would’ve earned her a mention in the paper?

“Forget it,” Evan sighed. He put the pile in front of him back in the box and stood up. “This isn’t working.”

Something caught Evan’s eye as he went to put the lid back on the box. He didn’t know why. It didn’t stand out at all. It was one name in a list that covered half the page. It was a list of the students who had been inducted into the National Honor Society.

And there, near the top of the list, was the name Jamie Cooper.

Evan knew that name. He’d known it before he’d gone to the library to help catch the vandals. He’d known it since the day he’d memorized Joey’s obituary.

 

Jared dropped him off at the library and hightailed it out of there like he was running from the police. Evan couldn’t blame him. He knew Jared felt like they’d just wasted two hours sitting in a dark, dank, dusty basement.

Evan would have agreed except he had found a lead. A possible lead. He didn’t know if she was the right Jamie Cooper. And, if she was, he didn’t know if she could help. But she had been in Celia’s year and that was something.

At the very least there was a chance she still had her old yearbooks.

Jamie was in her office with Connor. Evan wasn’t sure if that made this easier or harder. He decided not to think about that as he knocked on her doorframe.

“Hi, uh,” Evan started when they turned to look at him. He scratched his neck anxiously. “Sort of a weird question, but are you by any chance the same Jamie Cooper who graduated from Saturn High in 2003?”

Jamie did a double take at that. “Yes... Why?”

Evan nodded to himself and stepped inside. “I’m working on a-”

“Case?” Connor finished.

“I was going to say project, but... yeah.” 

“Okay,” Jamie said slowly. “And you think I can help?”

Evan nodded again. “Did you know Celia Rye?”

“I knew of her,” Jamie replied. “We didn’t exactly run in the same circles.”

“Did you know that she got pregnant senior year?”

Jamie laughed and glanced down at her hands. “Everyone knew that.”

“Right,” Evan muttered. “Of course, they did.”

“It was a big scandal at the time,” Jamie went on. “Especially after...” She frowned and looked at Evan curiously. “Why are you digging into this?”

“Her daughter asked me to,” Evan said. “She wants to find out who her father is.”

“Celia won’t tell her?” 

“No,” Evan shook his head.

Jamie tapped her fingers on the desk and exhaled loudly. “I don’t know if I should...”

Evan’s heart began to race as he studied her expression. She knew. She knew and she didn’t want to tell him.

“Please,” Evan begged. “Leah just wants to know who her dad is.”

“It’s complicated,” Jamie said lightly. “Especially if you’re involved.”

“What do you mean?” 

Jamie nodded at Connor. “Close the door.”

She pulled herself up when Connor sat back down. “I can’t believe this is a secret now. It actually, well, it explains some things. I was wondering why...”

“Why what?” 

“Why none of his opponents have brought it up yet.”

 

Evan put the can of whipped cream down and jumped when he saw his mother staring at him.

“Eating whipped cream straight from the can?” Heidi shook her head. “What happened to make it that kind of a day?”

“When did you get home?”

“Evan,” Heidi sighed. “You didn’t hear the door open or my keys jingle or-”

“It’s been that kind of a day,” Evan said hopefully.

“What happened?”

Evan took a breath and nodded at the chair across from him. “You might want to sit down.”

He didn’t know where to start, so he told her everything. Possibly in an order that didn’t make sense, but she seemed to follow it.

He told her about Leah. He told her what Jamie had said. He told her how Celia had been one of the cool kids in school, how she’d been a cheerleader and dated the star soccer player. How Tom Henderson had been the star soccer player. How he’d dumped her when she got pregnant and started going out with Amy Beckett, who, according to what Jamie had heard, had done her very best to steal Tom away from her good friend Celia.

“So, what do I do?” Evan asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Should I tell Leah?”

“That Sheriff Henderson is her father?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded. “This affects you too. If word gets out that I’m the one who told, then...”

“It won’t be good,” Heidi finished. “I can’t make that call for you.”

“I don’t know what Leah will do with the information. She might not do anything with it.”

“Or she might broadcast the fact that the interim sheriff has an illegitimate daughter he has ignored for fifteen years.”

“Which will look like a smear campaign since the election’s coming up,” Evan nodded. “People will say you were behind it.”

“I can handle that.” Heidi leaned back in her chair to study him. “Can you?”

 

The answer to that question was no. Evan hated to admit that, but it was. He liked to think he could handle being dragged into the limelight again. He liked to think he could handle the name-calling and mud-slinging.

He couldn’t though. And he didn’t think his mother could either.

So, he told Leah he hadn’t found anything yet. He claimed he’d keep looking, but that was a lie. As far as he was concerned, the case was officially closed.

 

Except he forgot about Connor.

He forgot that Connor knew too. He forgot until Connor approached him after he finished talking to Leah.

“That doesn’t look like the face of someone who just found out who her father is,” Connor observed.

“That’s because it isn’t,” Evan replied. He fiddled with his bag as he pulled it onto his shoulder.

“You didn’t tell her?”

“No.”

“Why? You scared?”

“Of Sheriff Henderson?” Evan shook his head. “Of his wife, maybe. She’s kind of terrifying.”

“Are you going to tell her?”

“Probably not,” Evan admitted. “It... Your aunt was right. It’s complicated.”

“You want me to tell her?”

“That wouldn’t make it any less complicated.”

Connor nodded slightly. “Right...”

Evan turned to go. The bell was about to ring and his next class was all the way downstairs.

“Hey, wait,” Connor said quickly. “Zoe wants to know if you can come over this afternoon.”

“To your house?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re sure she meant me and not... someone else in our grade. Literally anyone else.”

“She’s making another video,” Connor explained. “The new tech guy she found isn’t working out, so she was hoping you could fill in for now.”

Evan looked away as the first bell rang. “And she didn’t ask me herself because...” He nodded when he saw Connor’s expression. “Yeah, okay. I’ll have to bring Jared with me. He’s my ride.”

Evan smiled to himself. “And, actually, if she’s looking for a replacement, I think I know just the person.”

 

“You got me a job as Zoe’s new producer?” Jared almost rear-ended the car in front of them as he turned to gape at Evan.

“Maybe,” Evan shrugged. “It’s not definite, but I told Connor you taught me everything I know.”

“Damn straight I did,” Jared grinned. “So, what’s the plan then? You’re going to show me how to put together her videos?”

Jared tightened his hold on the steering wheel and shifted in his seat as a thought occurred to him. “She has a record deal now, doesn’t she? Shouldn’t she have actual, professional help with her videos?”

“Connor said she doesn’t want it. She wants to keep things authentic.”

“Whatever that means,” Jared laughed. “Okay, so...”

Jared’s voice trailed off as they approached the Murphys’ house. “That’s where they live?”

Evan nodded numbly. The house was even bigger than he’d remembered. And infinitely more intimidating. 

 

The glint in Cynthia Murphy’s eye when she pulled the door open for them was even more intimidating than the house had been.

“Evan,” Cynthia greeted him brightly with a tone that was even more forced than her smile. “Come in, come in. It’s been a while.”

“It has,” Evan agreed. He glanced at Jared for support and was surprised when Jared actually stepped forward to stand next to him.

“I’m on my way to book club, but there are snacks in the kitchen if you’re hungry.” Cynthia’s smile widened as she looked Evan up and down. “Make sure Zoe shows you her dress before you leave.”

“Wh-why?” Evan stammered.

“To make sure the corsage matches,” Cynthia said. “Otherwise the pictures won’t look right.”

“The pictures?”

“Zoe will explain. I know you boys don’t understand these things.”

Evan nodded stiffly as she stepped outside. He didn’t understand anything she had just said.

“Is it just me or does-” Evan began.

“Zoe’s mom think you’re taking her to homecoming?”

“I didn’t ask her,” Evan blurted out.

He glanced over his shoulder when he heard movement on the stairs behind him. 

“Shit,” Zoe muttered. She glanced at Connor helplessly.

“You didn’t tell him?” Connor laughed. “You said you were going to tell him.”

“Why does your mom think we’re going to homecoming together?” Evan demanded.

Zoe shut her eyes and nodded at the stairs. “Come on. I think we should talk.”

Evan followed her up the stairs and into her room. He automatically sat down at her desk before he realized that he should have waited for her instructions. Joey was gone. Zoe was no longer his girlfriend. The Murphys' house no longer felt like his second home.

Zoe took a breath and plopped down on her bed. “So, listen, I think I owe you an apology.”

“For telling your mom I’m taking you to the dance?”

“Well, that and the...” Zoe reached up to tuck her hair behind her ears. “The video. I shouldn’t have... Is outed the right word? I don’t know. I shouldn’t have put you in that position. I shouldn’t have tried to make you turn on your mom like that. I was mad. I was... I wasn’t myself.”

“You were grieving,” Evan added.

“Yeah,” Zoe agreed. “I was.”

They sat there for a minute, staring at everything except each other. It was a relief when the door opened and Connor and Jared finally came in.

“Everything kosher now?” Connor wondered.

Evan’s head snapped up at that. “No, wait, what’s the deal with homecoming?”

“My mom’s insisting that I need a date,” Zoe said softly. “For the pictures’ sake. Not for mine. I keep telling her I can go by myself, that there’s no shame in going alone, but she won’t listen.”

“Is she making you bring someone?” Jared asked Connor.

“No,” Zoe snorted. “Only me. She doesn’t care if Connor has a date because he’s...”

“A guy?” Evan filled in.

“Gay,” Connor shrugged. “She doesn’t have a problem with it, but it won’t ruin her pictures if I don’t have a date.”

Evan could tell that Jared was fighting the urge to ask questions about that. He opened his mouth to say something, he wasn’t sure what, but Zoe beat him to it.

“So,” Zoe said quickly. “I finally caved and told her I had a date. Of course, then she wanted a name, so I gave her the one name I knew would really piss her off.”

Evan nodded knowingly because that made sense. It wasn’t surprising to think that he was now someone that parents did not want their daughters to date. 

That wasn’t surprising at all.

“So, will you do it?” Zoe asked anxiously.

“I wasn’t planning to go to the dance,” Evan said. He sighed when he saw how much this was bothering her. “But, sure, fine. I’ll go under one condition.”

“Anything,” Zoe said breathlessly.

“You have to buy your own corsage and give it to me to give to you. I’m not running the risk of messing up the pictures and giving your parents another reason to hate me.”

“Deal,” Zoe grinned.

 

Evan could barely see the stage from where they were standing.

Not that that mattered. He wasn’t planning to stay and he didn’t think his mother was either. He was there to support Zoe and Connor, but he was beginning to question that decision. It wasn’t like they could tell he was there. There were so many people that they would’ve needed to have really great eyesight to spot him in the stands.

He wasn’t sure why his mother was there either. She’d been the one to convince him to go with her, not the other way around. At first, he’d thought it was just one of those things where she was trying to encourage him to be more social. Except she hadn’t done that in ages and it quickly became clear to him that something was up with her.

That notion only grew stronger as she started steering him down the stairs so that they had a better view of the stage.

“Where are we going?” Evan asked. “The show’s over. The game’s about to start.”

“It isn’t over yet,” Heidi whispered excitedly. 

“Don’t tell me you want to get a picture of them,” Evan said disbelievingly. He shook his head as the number of flashes continued to increase. 

He’d forgotten about this tradition. Their school always had the Homecoming Kings and Queens from the classes celebrating their reunions join the current King and Queen on stage before the big game. And, of course, some genius had thought it would be a good idea to put Tom and Amy Henderson right next to Zoe and Connor.

“I can’t believe this,” Evan muttered. “They’re going to make the front page tomorrow. The four of them. The paper will crop out everyone else.”

“I don’t know about that.” Heidi came to a sudden stop and grabbed Evan’s arm so she could pull him to the side.

“Okay, what do you know that I don’t?” Evan asked. “Because the way I see it, there’s no way they don’t put Connor and Zoe on the front page with the Hendersons.”

Evan turned to face the field when his mother didn’t respond. It took him a second to realize what she was watching.

There were at least a dozen women marching towards the stage. They were all dressed in jeans and wearing matching t-shirts. Evan couldn’t make out the print from where he was standing.

“I started thinking after we talked about your classmate’s paternal situation,” Heidi explained. “I started thinking about all the rumors I’d heard over the years, about the innuendos.”

“About Sheriff Henderson?”

“Yeah,” Heidi nodded. “I tried to ignore them because I always wanted to remain professional. It was hard enough being a woman, a single mother, in charge of the sheriff’s department. It was hard enough without joining in when people talked. I listened though. I listened and I learned a lot.”

Evan leaned forward to watch the women as they surrounded the stage. He gasped when he spotted Leah in the middle of the pack. There was a woman walking next to her with her arm around Leah’s shoulders. A woman that was obviously Leah’s mother.

“You did this?” Evan hissed.

Heidi kept her eyes on the field as the photographers finally noticed the women. The flashes were blinding, the reaction from the crowd was deafening. “Did what?”


	11. Chapter 11

The Henderson story continued to break throughout the day.

Evan went back to the office with his mother after the initial confrontation. He filed folders and typed up notes and finished a spreadsheet while his mother and Maggie camped out in her office. He could hear them laughing and gossiping as the news poured in.

It didn’t take long for the story to explode. The women at the game weren’t the only ones who claimed they’d been with Sheriff Henderson. There were others. Women who had knowingly had affairs with him, women who claimed he’d fathered their children, women who said he’d abused his power and taken advantage of them.

Evan had a feeling those stories were going to go national. Some of the reports questioned what the sheriff had gotten away with while Evan’s mother had been in charge. They wondered if she’d turned a blind eye to it and let him do as he pleased or if she truly hadn’t realized what he was doing. Others wondered if she’d been pushed out of office because she’d stood up to him. Those reporters called the sheriff’s department a “boys club” and said it was no wonder she hadn’t been able to keep her job.

It didn’t take long for her to get own hashtag. #bringbackheidihansen

Evan told her that when he came back from picking up their lunch. She smiled and unwrapped her sandwich without saying a word.

Evan didn’t know what that meant. He didn’t know what any of it meant.

There were people rallying to have her reinstated. There was a petition going and everything. 

He knew it was too late for her to be added to the ballot. Realistically speaking, it was too late for her to even think about campaigning.

But people could write her in if they wanted.

He didn’t know how he felt about that. Part of him was happy about it. He knew she’d loved the job. She’d been good at it and things had definitely be easier for them when she’d been sheriff. Easier financially, at least.

But they’d have to close Hansen Investigations if she went back. He’d lose his job. He’d stop working for her, which would mean they’d go back to only seeing each other at random times again.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

Except, deep down, he knew he knew how he felt. He just didn’t want to think about it. 

 

People were talking about the Henderson story at the dance.

Evan hadn’t expected that. He hadn’t expected his classmates to care about the story at all.

They did though. Probably because of Sophie Ventura. She was going around telling everyone that her sister was basically best friends with the girl at the center of the saga.

That was enough to make people pull out their phones and read up on everything that was being posted.

By the time the dance started, the Henderson story had become so twisted that Evan could no longer tell what was real and what was fake.

He couldn’t imagine that Sheriff Henderson had slept with all of the women claiming he’d been with them. He couldn’t imagine that there were that many mini-Toms running around out there.

He couldn’t imagine that all the rumors were true, but who was he to make that call? For all he knew, Tom Henderson really was the biggest womanizer their town had ever seen. Scratch that. If the rumors were true, Tom Henderson was the biggest, most abusive, most power-hungry asshole their town had ever seen. 

And that was saying something.

Evan would’ve felt bad for Amy Henderson if she’d been a nice person. 

The stories about her started right before Evan left for the dance.

A male friend of Amy’s came forward to say that he didn’t know what all the fuss was about because everyone who knew the Hendersons knew that they had an open marriage.

Evan could tell that the friend thought he was helping, but his statement opened up a whole can of worms. 

The stories about Amy weren’t nearly as scandalous as the ones about her husband, but what they lacked in drama, they made up for in volume. 

Evan nearly dropped his phone when the page refreshed itself and he saw the latest one. He let out a startled laugh and looked around wildly.

He wasn’t surprised when he saw that Connor was pushing his way through the crowd to get to him.

“We’re leaving,” Connor hissed. He grabbed Evan’s arm without waiting for a response and started pulling him towards the door.

“Is it true?” Evan gasped.

“Don’t know, don’t care,” Connor muttered. “Josh put it out there though, so we need to get out of here and help sort this out.”

Evan nodded vaguely. Zoe was already standing by the door with Jared, who did not seem happy that people were staring at them.

“You didn’t say anything to anyone, did you?” Zoe asked Connor.

Connor looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “Are you kidding?”

“Dad wants to make sure we’re not answering any questions about Josh.”

“Josh is-” Connor started.

“Don’t!” Zoe yelped. She tilted her head to the side to remind him that several of their classmates were watching and recording what they did.

“Jared’s going to take you home,” Zoe told Evan. “I’m going to send you the interviews when I get a chance. I-I don’t think I can...”

“It’s fine,” Evan assured her. “I’ll put the video together. You need it by next Saturday, right?”

Zoe nodded gratefully and tugged on Connor’s arm. “Come on...”

“Do you want me to do the video?” Jared offered eagerly.

Evan shook his head right away. He stared at his feet when he saw how disappointed Jared looked. “I’m not going to steal the job back from you. It’s just... I have to do this one, you know?”

“Okay,” Jared sighed. “You better not try and steal the job back though or I’ll...”

“You’ll what?”

Jared made a face when he saw that Evan was laughing at him. “Shut up.”

 

Evan started on the video right away because he was too keyed up to sleep. 

It was too early to sleep. They hadn’t even stayed at the dance for an hour. 

Which was totally okay with him.

He was glad to able to go home and change his clothes and spend the rest of the night working on the tribute to Joey.

Because that was what Zoe’s next video was going to be. Another tribute to Joey. This one was supposed to be a celebration of his life. She was planning to post it on their birthday.

It was actually pretty clever of her, Evan had to admit. She was killing two birds with one stone. She was making her mother happy and she’d found an easy way to include Josh in one of her videos.

An easy way that did not require her to let him play his xylophone.

Zoe had interviewed everyone in her family and several of Joey’s friends. She’d warned Evan that a lot of the interviews were a bit scattered.

That was the word she’d used. Evan had a feeling it may not be strong enough to describe what he was about to see.

She’d warned him that it was going to take him a while to find material that he could actually use. She’d made it very clear that she didn’t have a future as a journalist.

The first video was hard to watch. Zoe had started with her mom.

Cynthia Murphy started crying ten seconds in. Not hysterically. Evan could still understand her, but it was hard to see how upset she was about Joey’s death. 

She focused on Joey’s childhood. She talked about how he’d been the easy baby. He hadn’t been highly sensitive like Connor, who had cried at every loud noise and strange texture. He hadn’t been a nervous baby like Zoe, who had fussed every time her mother left the room.

Joey had been her happy baby, her happy child, her happy teenager. She calmed down enough to tell a story about the time Joey ran away to go to Hogwarts. He managed to get all the way downtown by himself. Cynthia laughed and wiped at her eyes as she said that she’d gotten a call from a friend that Joey was at the train station, yelling at the barrier between tracks nine and ten to let him in. 

The next interview was with Kevin Murphy and his wife, Nadine. Evan was surprised when he saw that he didn’t have to do any trimming there. And then he was surprised that he was surprised.

Kevin Murphy was the CEO of one of the largest companies in the world. He knew how to give an interview. He could come up with a soundbite as easily as he could say his name. He’d probably had a whole team of handlers help him prepare one when he heard that Zoe wanted to interview him. 

He described Joey warmly without getting overly emotional. He talked about how tragic it was that such a promising young man’s life had been cut so short. He told a story about the time he’d encouraged Joey and Connor to arm wrestle when they both wanted the last cookie. He said that Joey had backed down right away because he hated the idea of hurting his brother. Kevin shook his head and said that he wished his own brother had been that generous when they were kids.

Nadine hardly said a word. She sat next to her husband and smiled and nodded and quietly declared that Joey had been such a sweetheart.

Zoe’s interview with her father was short, but it wasn’t as succinct as the one with Kevin had been. It took Larry Murphy a minute to get around to talking about Joey. When he did, he kept his eyes down and his voice low. He talked about the years he’d helped coach Joey’s baseball team. He talked about how he’d always hoped that Joey would decide to start playing again. He talked about how it felt like there was a hole in their family now that Joey was gone.

Jamie Cooper used her interview to talk about how Joey had been the family cheerleader. She smiled wistfully as she described the many times Joey had encouraged his relatives to go after what they wanted. Zoe had joined in at that point. She put the camera on herself and said that Joey was the one who’d convinced her to form a band with him. He was the one who knew they could make it big. The camera shook for a moment as her breathing became raspy. Jamie wrapped up the segment by saying that everyone should be so lucky as to have someone like Joey in their life.

Kelsey Murphy was a breath of fresh air. After watching the Murphy adults stare at the camera somberly, it was a relief for Evan to watch someone who was actually animated.

Evan had seen Kelsey a few times, but he didn’t really know her. He knew that she was a junior at his school and that she was close to Zoe. She talked about how weird it was to think of Joey in the past tense. She said that he was the coolest person in their family. She grinned and tilted her chin defiantly when Zoe asked if that included her. She talked about how Joey had introduced her to all of her favorite bands. Her voice shook when she said that it was hard to listen to her music sometimes because almost all her songs made her think of Joey. 

The next set of interviews were with Joey’s friends. With Evan’s former friends. They were easy and hard to watch. 

The interviews blurred together. They were done separately, but none of them were unique. Evan wondered if the guys had gotten together and rehearsed what they were going to say before Zoe filmed them. Evan felt like he could patch random pieces together from each one and the segment would look like it had been filmed that way.

Evan felt like he should send Josh Murphy’s interview to whatever soap opera was currently hiring. He watched the clip three times before he grabbed his phone and texted Connor.

_Has your cousin Josh ever thought about going into acting?_

Evan put his phone down and took a breath. He needed to watch the video again. He needed to take it seriously and find something he could salvage for Zoe’s show. 

He couldn’t leave Josh out. If he did, Zoe would have his head because then she’d have to let him play one of his original xylophone pieces on her next video.

He blinked at his phone when he got a text alert. He was surprised that Connor was still up until he realized that it actually wasn’t that late. It just felt like it.

_Only every day since he was 10. Why?_

Evan hit play and sighed as Josh yelled at God for taking Joey from them.

_It feels like he’s trying to cover the full spectrum of human emotions in his interview._

Connor's response was instantaneous. _He wants to get famous any way he can._

Evan nodded knowingly. That made sense. It explained why Josh was jumping on the Amy bandwagon.

Evan’s phone buzzed again before he could respond.

_Have you watched my interview yet?_

Evan blinked at that. _Not yet. I still have to watch yours and Zoe’s. And I have to film mine._

_You get to film your own interview?_

_Yeah. And I get to edit it too._

_That’s not fair._

_How is that not fair?_

_My interview’s a fucking mess._

Evan closed Josh’s interview and opened Connor’s. He let the arrow hover above play for a moment before deciding to wait.

_It can’t be that bad._

_It is. Zoe promised she’d delete most of it, but I don’t think she did._

_Ok, I have to watch it now._

Evan waited for a response. He waited and was about to give up waiting when one finally popped up.

_I’m going to bed. Night._

Evan’s eyes widened when he saw that. He wondered what was in the interview that was so bad that Connor didn’t want to be around when he watched it.

He hit play before he’d even put down his phone.

It started out slow. Connor wasn’t rude, exactly, but he only gave one word answers to all of Zoe’s questions.

And she had a lot of questions for him. More than she had for anyone else. Most of the other subjects had been able to talk on their own, without any prompts, after the first minute or two.

Connor finally looked at the camera and said, “It’s just hard, okay?”

“What is?” Zoe asked.

“This. Going on. Living. It’s like I know I should be so happy and so glad and so fucking grateful that I’m still here, that I’m still breathing. Because at least I’m not Joey. I’m not six feet under. I’m not worm food.”

“Okay, that’s enough.” 

The camera shook as Zoe stood up.

“You wanted to know how I felt,” Connor shrugged. 

“Do you still feel that way?” Zoe asked softly.

“What way?”

“Like you want to...”

“I’m not going to off myself,” Connor rolled his eyes. “You’re not going to become an only child.”

“But you still want to or...”

Connor didn’t say anything. He closed his eyes and spun around to face the wall.

His face was strangely calm when he turned back around. “Okay, so you want to talk about Joey?”

“Wait, Connor-”

Connor smiled. It was a forced smile, one that didn’t come close to reaching his eyes.

“Joey was an amazing brother. He was much better than I deserved.”

Evan felt like he was in a daze as he watched the rest of the interview. This was the part that he would use. The only part that he would use.

He didn’t know what to do about the rest. He didn’t know if he should say anything to Connor or leave it alone.

Connor knew he’d watched it. 

Evan’s stomach did a flip as he thought about that. He’d have to say something. He just didn’t know what.

He closed Connor’s interview as soon as it was done. He didn’t know how he’d make himself watch it again. He opened Zoe’s right away because he needed the distraction.

Zoe didn’t say anything for the first ninety seconds of her interview. She sat on her bed and stared blankly at the camera.

“I can’t do this,” she finally declared. “I can’t talk about him again.”

She shook her head and sighed. “Evan, you’re not going to find anything you can use in this, okay? I just... I need to get some things off my chest. And...”

She clumsily reached up to push her hair back. “I don’t know if you’re the right person to hear this, but I don’t know who else to tell. I don’t know anyone else who cares the way you do.”

She bit her lip and leaned back against the wall. “I blame myself for what happened to Joey. It’s my fault. He’s dead because of me.”

Zoe’s face crumbled as she dabbed at her eyes. “I didn’t kill him. I... Okay, how crazy is it that I have to say that? I didn’t kill Joey. I didn’t...

“I was with you the day he died. I should’ve been with him. I dropped him off at home and I should’ve gone in. I was going to go in, but he stopped me. He told me to go hang out with you. He said he was meeting someone at our house and they needed their privacy.”

Zoe smiled at the camera sadly. “I don’t know who. Honestly, I have no idea. I didn’t ask. He made me promise not to tell. He was supposed to be running errands for Mom, but he decided to blow them off. He said he’d asked Connor to do some of them. He laughed about that. He asked me if I thought that Connor could manage to get everything on Mom’s list.

“He was happy. The last time I saw him, he was happy. He... I should’ve stayed with him. I should’ve told him to text me when the person got there, to text me when they left. 

“I know what you’re going to say and I know you’re right. I might not have been able to stop it if I’d stayed. For all I know, we might both be dead now. He might’ve saved my life when he told me to leave.”

Zoe closed her eyes and nodded to herself. “I know what you’re thinking and, no, I didn’t tell your mom when she interviewed me. I didn’t think of it at first. I-I was in shock and... I don’t know. I didn’t remember until later. Much later. And by then, things had spiraled so much that...

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately though. I’ve been having these nightmares and I can’t talk about them because I can’t tell anyone what happened. I can’t tell them that I covered for Joey. Without meaning to, without even knowing what I was covering for, I...”

Zoe’s face went blank as she straightened herself up. “I want to end the video with an acoustic version of _A Song for Joey_. I’ll record it and get it you by Wednesday.”

The screen went black at that. 

Evan stared at it for a moment before closing his laptop. His head was spinning and he was suddenly so tired, so exhausted, that he couldn’t even think about moving. He couldn’t think about sleeping either. 

He looked at his clock. He knew his mother was still awake. He debated whether he should show her Zoe’s video. He wondered what she’d do with it, if she’d feel like she had to turn it over to the police.

He didn’t know. He honestly didn’t know how she’d handle it.

He decided to hold off on that. He’d keep it to himself. He’d do some digging on his own first. 

That idea sounded so simple. Do some digging. This wasn’t a stolen pen or a leaked photo.

He couldn’t even begin to imagine where he should start.


	12. Chapter 12

He had to start with Zoe.

Evan knew that. Logically speaking, she was the obvious person to start with. She knew more than the police thought she did. There was even a chance that she knew more than she realized she did.

The problem was that she wasn’t an easy person to get to these days. It wasn’t like Evan could just walk up to her between classes and start asking questions about the day her brother died.

Well, he could, but he knew that wouldn’t go over well. She was almost never alone, for one thing. There was almost always someone hanging around her. 

And Evan knew she wouldn’t appreciate it if he started grilling her about Joey in public. There was a reason she’d chosen to use a video to tell him about Joey’s visitor after all.

He would have to find a time when he could get her alone for a few minutes. That didn’t sound as impossible as it would have a few weeks ago.

He didn’t know if he would say that they were friends again, but he was fairly certain that she didn’t hate him. That there was a chance she may never have truly hated him. That she’d been mad at him because of his mother’s investigation and because she was with him instead of Joey when Joey was killed.

Evan wasn’t sure if she would ever get over that part. He wasn’t sure if he would either.

He’d have to wait until Saturday to talk to her. He was going to her house then for the premiere of the birthday video. It was becoming increasingly clear that talking to her before Saturday was out of the question. He knew her well enough to know that she would shut down and stare at him blankly if he tried to make arrangements to see her before then. 

And he wasn’t about to go back to being the guy who hung around the band room, waiting and desperately trying to find a way to speak to her.

He wasn’t that guy anymore. He was never going to be that guy again.

 

Except sometimes he was.

The phrase “split up into groups” possessed the power to send him back to that place so fast that it would’ve been embarrassing if it wasn’t so terrifying.

Evan tried not to let his panic show. He willed his face to stay calm when Mrs. Jensen told the class to divide into groups and discuss the reading she’d assigned. He bent over and pretended to search through his backpack while his classmates sorted themselves out.

Moments like this made him miss Joey. Moments like this made him wish that Jared was in all of his classes. 

Evan wrinkled his nose when that thought crossed his mind. 

It was true though, which was kind of... Sad? Not sad. He wasn’t sure what it was. 

Connor was sitting next to him when he sat back up. It took all of Evan’s willpower not to jump when he saw that.

It wasn’t that he’d forgotten that Connor was in his class. It was just, well, he’d assumed that Connor would want to stay clear of him after the whole video thing. They hadn’t talked about Connor’s interview. They hadn’t talked at all since Evan had watched the video. 

He’d also assumed that Connor would partner with Zoe. Which made no sense now that he thought about it. Zoe was sitting with three of her friends. Evan couldn’t blame Connor for wanting to stay clear of that.

“Okay, fair warning, I’ve already finished the book,” Connor said.

Evan nodded automatically. “Okay... You read ahead?”

“I read it last year.”

“Oh, right.” Evan tilted his head curiously. “So, how does that work? Can you just turn in the papers you wrote last year?”

“It doesn’t work that way.” Connor leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms above his head. “I already tried.”

“So, I guess you can’t make any predictions then either, huh?”

“I predict that Jane and Rochester will end up together and the mad woman in the attic-”

“I said predictions, not spoilers,” Evan cut in sharply.

“You’re telling me you haven’t already Wikipedia-ed the book?”

Evan shrugged because, truthfully, that was the first thing he’d done. “Okay, so, skipping the predictions section...” He leaned forward to study the board. “We’re supposed to talk about the role that religion plays in the story.”

Connor nodded knowingly. “That’s going to be an essay question.”

“You think Mrs. Jensen reuses her tests?”

“Mr. Lemon does.”

“Do you think there will be any questions on-”

“Do you want me to send you a copy of my test?” Connor smirked.

Evan glanced up in alarm. “No! That would be cheating.”

Connor simply raised his eyebrows and looked away.

“Okay, so religion...”

“Is an important part of the book,” Connor finished.

“That’s all you have to say?”

Connor made a show of shrugging and studying his nails.

Evan rolled his eyes. “We better not have to share our answers with the class.”

“We won’t have to,” Connor grinned.

Evan leaned forward again. “Any thoughts on Blanche Ingram?” 

 

Evan froze in the doorway and gawked at his mother. “What’s with the suit?”

His panic faded when she turned to grin at him. Apparently, the fact that she was dressed up was a good thing this time. Evan couldn’t recall that ever being the case before though.

The last time he’d seen her dressed like that was when they went to the press conference about her resignation.

“So, I just got off the phone with the mayor,” Heidi beamed.

“The mayor? Really?”

“There’s going to be a press conference this afternoon. They’re suspending Sheriff Henderson.”

Evan’s mouth dropped open at that. “And they asked you to come back?”

Heidi shook her head. “Not as sheriff. The official term they’re using is ‘consultant.’”

“Like Sherlock Holmes?” Evan laughed.

“Yes, but without the hat,” Heidi nodded.

“Well, now I know what I’m getting you for Christmas.” Evan leaned back against the counter and squinted at the window. “You know, there are still a lot of people saying you should be reinstated.”

“A lot of people online,” Heidi agreed. “But not in our town. And definitely not in the mayor’s office.”

“The people online are being really vocal though. The mayor can’t ignore that forever.”

Heidi glanced at him knowingly. “I’m not going to be sheriff again, Evan.”

“But what if people write you in? It could happen.”

“Okay, let me put it this way then. I don’t want to be sheriff again.”

Evan blinked at that. “You don’t?”

“I’ve come to realize that I like being my own boss. I like not having to deal with politics and press conferences.”

“But the money-”

Heidi nodded stiffly. “If I went back, it would be for that. The consulting gig should help.” Heidi picked up her mug and took a sip. “It’s going to take a lot of my time though, so I’m going to need you to handle some of the smaller cases on your own.”

Evan narrowed his eyes anxiously. “You don’t expect me to...”

Heidi shook her head. “I’ll try to keep the stakeouts to a minimum. I’m talking about research, mostly.”

“You mean I’ll have unlimited access to your databases?”

Evan dropped his gaze when his mother turned to look at him.

“I’ll expect a detailed log of what you did and when,” Heidi said firmly.

Evan couldn’t help grinning. That was nothing. There were so many ways he could get around that, so many ways he could use her log-ins to access information that would help him look into Joey’s murder. To figure out if there was really anything worth looking into.

“I mean it, Evan,” Heidi cautioned. She put her mug in the sink and picked up her keys. “I should get going. Do you need a ride?”

Evan couldn’t mask his surprise. He’d half-expected her to come up with a case that desperately needed to be solved in order to keep him from going to the Murphys’ house.

“It’s on my way,” Heidi reminded him.

“Okay,” Evan said suspiciously. “You’re not planning to come in with me, are you?”

The look on his mother’s face told him that answer was a resounding no.

 

Evan felt a brief flash of guilt when he abandoned Jared to go follow Zoe and Kelsey into the dining room. He would’ve felt worse about it if Jared hadn’t just finished telling Zoe’s handlers how he was going to completely revolutionize her videos.

He’d made it sound like everything up to this point had been sloppy and substandard. 

Evan had held his tongue because he hated confrontations. He still hated confrontations. So, okay, in that sense, he was still that guy.

It didn’t help matters that the people from Zoe’s label were slightly terrifying. The woman was at least. The man didn’t seem that bad.

Though it was possible that he was just trying to make a good impression. Zoe had said that he was practically engaged to her aunt.

Evan pretended to study the dining room table while he struggled to come up with an opening. He tried not to look like he was eavesdropping on the girls’ conversation. 

“It’s not fair, you know,” Kelsey whined. “He won’t even look at my app.”

“You need to show it to him, Kels,” Zoe said encouragingly. “I don’t know much about these things, but it looks awesome from what I can see.”

“It is,” Kelsey hissed. “He’d know that if he would just open it, but no. Everything’s always Josh this and Josh that. It doesn’t matter that Josh doesn’t even want to do this. That he only uses his laptop for school and games and porn.”

Kelsey sighed and put a hand on her hip. “It’s because I’m a girl. He refuses to take me seriously because I’m a girl.”

Evan coughed and looked away when he caught Zoe watching him.

“Why don’t you show it to Connor?” Zoe suggested. “I bet he’d like it.”

“Sure,” Kelsey shrugged. “Why not?”

Zoe glanced at Evan expectantly once Kelsey was gone. He nodded at the fruit salad.

“Your mom put extra cherries in it,” Evan said quietly.

“She always will,” Zoe nodded.

Evan dumped a big scoop of salad onto his plate. Cherries were Joey’s favorite fruit. He’d been borderline obsessed with them.

“So, those are your... What? Managers?”

“I’m not totally sure, to be honest,” Zoe laughed. “My dad and Uncle Kevin are handling the business end of this. I just show up and sing. That’s the deal. I’m only allowed to make my videos while I’m in school. I’m trying to get them to let me record some tracks during winter break.”

“So, nothing’s really changed then?”

Zoe glanced at him out of the side of her eye. “I don’t know about that...”

“Right,” Evan mumbled. “So, listen-”

“I don’t want to talk about my video,” Zoe cut in sharply.

Evan glanced up in alarm. “How did you-”

“Because I know you and because you haven’t been subtle. At all. You’ve been hoping to get me alone all afternoon.”

“I keep thinking about what you said. About-”

“I don’t know who he was meeting,” Zoe whispered. “I have no idea. Seriously, none. I’ve racked my brain. I’ve tried so hard to figure it out and I can’t.”

Zoe bit her lip and craned her neck to look into the living room. “They’re talking about reopening the case, you know.”

“I know.”

It was all over the news. People were starting to come forward and question Sheriff Henderson’s methods. Former co-workers, witnesses, lawyers. It was becoming a thing.

Evan was surprised that it had taken a whole week for them to get around to suspending the sheriff.

“What did he sound like?” Evan wondered.

“Who? Joey?”

Evan nodded. “Did it sound like he was meeting a girlfriend or-”

“Joey didn’t have a girlfriend,” Zoe laughed.

“He went out with Sophie Ventura last year. Did you know that?”

Zoe shook her head. “We didn’t talk about things like that.”

Evan glanced at her skeptically. “You didn’t?”

“No,” Zoe insisted. “It was weird talking about those things with him, especially when I was going out with you.”

Evan took a bite of his salad and studied the centerpiece in front of him. Zoe was frowning at him when he looked up again.

“But he hated Sophie!”

“That’s what I thought,” Evan sighed. “Sophie’s sister swears they went out though.”

Zoe swallowed and blinked at her plate. “It didn’t sound like he was meeting someone to... I don’t know. To hook up or whatever.”

“Did it sound like-”

“I don’t know,” Zoe snapped. “I already told you everything I-”

Zoe stopped speaking when a loud argument broke out in the living room. She glanced at Evan quickly before scurrying down the hall.

Everyone in the room was gaping at Josh Murphy as he yelled at his father.

“You say that like I was the only one!” Josh yelped.

“The only one who what?” Kevin demanded.

“The only one who was sleeping with the sheriff’s wife,” Josh smirked. 

“This is not the time to-”

“Joey-” Josh began. He inhaled sharply as his father squeezed his arm. “Ow! That hurts!”

“We’re not talking about this here,” Kevin said in a voice that was so dangerously low it made Evan want to shiver. “Nadine, Kelsey, let’s go.”

Evan watched as Kevin Murphy rounded up his family and stormed out of the house. He resisted the urge to go tearing after them, to stop Josh and order him to finish that thought.

He couldn’t have been saying what Evan thought he was saying, could he?

There was no way that Joey had been...

Evan couldn’t go there. He couldn’t let his mind touch that idea with a ten-foot pole.

There was no way. There was no possible way that Joey had been...

Except Sophie.

Joey hadn’t told him about her.

That settled it. Evan was going to have to talk to Sophie Ventura.


	13. Chapter 13

Sophie Ventura was even harder to get to than Zoe.

Evan realized that as soon as he decided that he needed to talk to her.

It wasn’t going to be easy to speak to Sophie. She never went anywhere alone. She made sure of that. Evan couldn’t count how many times he’d seen Sophie look around expectantly after declaring that she was going to the bathroom and that girls should never go to the bathroom alone.

He considered the possibility of going to Olivia and using her to get to Sophie except he knew how that would go. They’d end up trapped in a never-ending game of ‘I owe you, no, you owe me.’

So, he did the only thing he could. He tracked Tracy down and asked for a favor.

“You want me to find out why Sophie and Joey broke up?” Tracy asked.

“Yeah,” Evan nodded. He glanced at her curiously. She didn’t seem surprised that they’d gone out. She didn’t seem surprised at all. 

He decided not to mention that. He knew Tracy well enough to know that she would be reluctant to help him if she found out they had kept their relationship a secret.

From some people. Apparently, not from everyone.

“I need to know if there was someone else involved,” Evan added. “If, um, if-”

“If someone cheated?” Tracy filled in. She looked over her shoulder quickly. “Does this have something to do with Joey’s murder case?”

“Maybe,” Evan shrugged. “I’m not sure yet.”

Tracy nodded slowly. “Okay. I’ll see what I can find out.”

She closed her locker and leaned against it. “You know, you could always ask Sophie yourself.”

“And how do you suggest I do that? We’re not exactly friends.”

“You could talk to her at Sarah’s party this weekend. Sophie will talk to anyone when she’s drunk.”

“Oh, darn,” Evan snapped his fingers. “My invitation must’ve gotten lost in the mail.”

“It’s not that kind of thing,” Tracy grinned. “Consider this your invitation.”

“Thanks, but I have to work,” Evan sighed dramatically. “So, you think you can...”

“I’ll let you know what I find out,” Tracy agreed.

 

Taking over his mother’s easy cases wasn’t nearly as easy as she’d made it sound.

Evan rubbed his forehead as he studied the screen. This was going to be one of those times where the log he gave his mother was completely, one hundred percent accurate.

He didn’t think he’d have the energy to look into Joey’s case when he finished dealing with the list she’d left him.

He didn’t think he’d have the energy to do anything. He’d spent the night surveilling a trophy wife and following her from club to club. It had been a waste of his time. She’d wandered around, totally wasted and cackling with her girlfriends, but she hadn’t let anyone lay a hand on her. He’d actually seen her take off her heels and swing them at one of the guys who tried.

Evan hoped that her husband would accept those pictures as proof that his wife was not violating her marital vows.

Evan yawned and buried his face in his arms as the page froze. He wondered if it was as tired as he was. He didn’t think that was possible.

He bolted up when he heard someone knocking on the door. The office was technically closed. He debated whether he needed to answer it until he saw that Jared was trying to peer through the glass.

“We’re editing the video here,” Jared said by way of greeting.

“What?” Evan blinked. It took him a second to get what Jared was saying. “Why can’t you do it at Zoe’s house?”

“Because her house is scary and my house has Henry.”

“So, you decided this was the most logical place for you to get together?”

“I tried your house first,” Jared shrugged. “You weren’t home.”

“Okay, see, part of the reason I got you the job as Zoe’s producer was so that I didn’t have to do anything with her videos anymore. Like at all.”

“But you’re all over this one,” Jared smirked.

Evan inhaled nervously. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, she’s finally stopped singing about her dead brother and started singing about your breakup. At least, I’m assuming that’s what this song is about. She mentions trees, like, five times. And she sings about the guy’s stuttering heartbeat. If that’s not you, then...”

“Oh my God,” Evan moaned into his hands. “You have to go. You guys can’t work on that here. Can’t you go to the library-”

“We can’t work on this in the library,” Jared scoffed.

“What about Starbucks? People work on all kinds of things at Starbucks.”

“Are you kidding? We need a quiet place to work.”

Evan was about to say that that place wasn’t his office when the door swung open again. He could feel his mouth forming a thin line as Zoe and Connor tentatively stepped inside.

“So, this is what a detective agency looks like,” Zoe said in a voice that was way too cheerful.

“You can work out here,” Evan told Jared. “I’ll be in my mom’s office if you need me.”

He grabbed his laptop and practically ran from the room. 

He didn’t want to hear her song. He didn’t want to acknowledge that it existed.

He was suddenly overwhelmed with sympathy for every guy that Taylor Swift had ever dated.

He checked his phone and saw that there was a text from Tracy. She wanted to know if she could come see him after church. He wrote back that he was at work and gave her the address.

He wondered what that meant. The fact that she was trying to hunt him down must mean that she’d found out something she was dying to share.

Evan opened his laptop, only to close it again when someone tapped on his door. He shouted that it was open.

Connor glanced around uneasily and nodded at the window. “You’re hiring?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded. “My mom’s looking for someone else to help out part-time. Her caseload’s tripled since she took on the consulting gig.”

“Oh,” Connor muttered. “Isn’t Jared helping you?”

“He doesn’t want the job. He said he won’t give up his job at the movie theater unless we offer him an unlimited supply of stale popcorn.” Evan tilted his head curiously. “Why? You know someone who might be interested?”

Evan blinked when he saw the look on Connor’s face. The look that practically screamed the word ‘duh.’

“You’re looking for a job?” Evan laughed. He immediately felt bad for laughing, but he knew that Connor didn’t need the money.

And it had mainly been an awkward kind of laugh. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how he’d tell his mother that he wanted to hire Connor.

“I need something to do,” Connor shrugged.

“Okay,” Evan said slowly. “Have you thought about trying a hobby? Like... I don’t know. Painting? Poetry? Gardening? You could join your mother’s garden club.”

Connor looked at him like he’d gone mad. “I’ll pass.”

“Right, okay, but seriously-”

“My therapist is after me to be more... I don’t know. He keeps saying I need goals and that I need to...” Connor folded his arms across his chest and glowered at Evan. “What?”

Evan scratched at his neck nervously. “Nothing.”

What was he supposed to say? That he was surprised that Connor was talking about this so openly? 

That it was making him uncomfortable? Except it wasn’t making him uncomfortable. It was just different. Really different.

Evan had never told anyone about Dr. Sherman. Not Jared. Definitely not Jared. And not Zoe. And...

He had said something to Joey once. 

He didn’t remember what exactly, but he knew he had. Joey had witnessed him having a panic attack and it had kind of spilled out.

They hadn’t talked about it again. 

Joey hadn’t judged him for it though. He hadn’t treated him any differently. He’d just...

He’d been Joey. That was just the kind of person he’d been.

Evan’s heart began to race as he tried to take a breath. He stared blankly at the wall behind Connor. “Did Joey...”

He couldn’t finish that question. He wasn’t even sure what he’d been asking in the first place.

Connor didn’t say anything for a minute. Evan’s hands shook as he opened his laptop again and started scanning the search results for something that would help him find out...

He couldn’t remember what he was researching. He grabbed the list his mother had left him and studied it. Stolen car? No. Mystery phone calls? Probably not. Fiancé background check? He had a winner.

“So, what kind of work would I have to do?”

“Um,” Evan mumbled. He blinked as he tore himself away from the screen. He closed his eyes and took a breath. “You know I’m not Joey, right?”

His mouth went dry when he realized what he’d said. He’d meant it though. It was something he’d been thinking lately. That Connor was seeing him as some sort of Joey do-over. A chance to make up for being a crappy big brother.

“Yeah,” Connor frowned. “Do you?”

He sighed and looked away. “I mean, you know that I’m not...”

Evan blinked and nodded. “I know you’re not Joey.”

And he did. He knew that Connor wasn’t a substitute for Joey. He knew they were not the same person. Not even close.

He also knew that Joey had talked to Connor about him. He didn’t know when, he didn’t know why, but he was definitely getting the impression that Joey had said something to Connor.

“Did Joey...” Evan tried again. He shook his head and shut his mouth and clicked on a random search result. It took him to a page about an art smuggling ring in Venezuela. He closed the site and tapped his fingers on the desk.

Connor was watching him knowingly when he dared to look up again. 

“Joey and I didn’t talk much,” Connor said. “We weren’t close or... He said something about you last year though. I was having a... I was having a day and I started freaking out and my parents started freaking out and Joey... He told me I wasn’t the only one dealing with this shit.”

Evan wanted to ask exactly what kind of shit Connor was talking about. He didn’t though. He didn’t because part of him didn’t want to know. And because he could hear Zoe and Jared bickering outside the door. 

That was enough to snap him back to reality, to remind him that they weren’t alone.

The door flew open without warning. Jared poked his head inside and nodded at Evan. “You don’t care if I doctor a video to make it look like you’re humping a tree, do you?”

Evan let out a startled chuckle. “Uh, yeah, I think I do.”

“It would be very tastefully done,” Jared argued. 

“I’m not giving you permission to use any images of me in Zoe’s video,” Evan maintained. 

“Or recordings,” Connor added. “He isn’t giving you permission to use any recordings of him either. Try it and he’ll sue.”

Jared raised his eyebrows at Connor. “He’ll sue?”

“I know people,” Connor shrugged.

“Okay, fine,” Jared relented. He hesitated as he turned to go. “What if I commission a drawing? Can I use a cartoon of some kind?”

“No!” Evan and Connor snapped simultaneously. 

“Sheesh...” Jared’s hands flew up defensively. He shook his head as he went back to Zoe. “You were right...”

Evan heard Zoe say ‘told you’ before the door shut again.

“So, trees, huh?” Connor grinned. 

“I like trees,” Evan mumbled. His eyes widened when he saw that Connor was silently laughing at him. “Not like that. I don’t-”

“You don’t like fucking trees?” 

Evan wrinkled his nose at Connor’s amusement. “I was going to say I don’t like them in a weird way, but, yeah, that works too.”

Connor stopped laughing and sat up straight. “So, about the job...”

Evan had kind of hoped he’d forgotten about that. He lowered his eyes and stared at his notebook. 

“I’ll have to talk to my mom,” he finally said. “I think she was hoping for someone with some level of experience, but, uh... She’ll want to interview you if she’s willing to consider it.”

He glanced up cautiously. If that didn’t scare Connor off, he didn’t know what would.

“That’s fair,” Connor agreed. “Just tell me when to show up.”

Evan nodded absentmindedly. He couldn’t imagine his mother agreeing to this. He couldn’t imagine her even considering it for a second.

“You’ll be here too, right?” Connor asked. His tone was light, but Evan could see an anxious glint in his eyes.

“Yeah,” Evan assured him. “I’ll be here too.”

 

Evan forgot all about Tracy until his phone buzzed and a text popped up announcing that she was outside. He stood up and stretched as he crossed the office. He hadn’t gotten up in almost two hours, not since he’d locked up after the others.

He let Tracy in and led her over to the reception area. She sat down and blinked up at him in a way that made him feel uneasy.

“Okay,” Evan chuckled nervously. He plopped down next to her and tilted his head. “What did you find out?”

Tracy twisted her hands around in her lap and breathed in shakily. “Well, no one cheated, so there’s that.”

“Okay,” Evan nodded. “That’s good, right?”

“Yeah,” Tracy nodded swiftly. “Sophie broke up with him. She was adamant about that. She dumped him because she had a thing for Anthony and she wanted to pursue that.”

Tracy smiled tightly. “She started sobbing and crying that she’d made a mistake. She wishes she had a time machine so she could go back and stop herself from dumping Joey. She’s convinced that they would’ve gotten married and had dozens of babies if he’d lived.”

“Somehow I doubt that,” Evan muttered.

“Yeah,” Tracy agreed. She bit her lip and studied her hands as they continued to rub together.

“Was there something else?” Evan asked softly.

“It was Sarah’s Halloween party, you know.”

“I know,” Evan nodded.

“And you know how those go.”

Evan nodded again. He’d only gone to one of Sarah’s Halloween parties, but he knew all about them. They were that legendary. They were the perfect mix of scary and crazy and fun.

If you were into that kind of thing, which Evan had decided he was not. It had been kind of fun last year when he’d gone with Joey and Zoe, but it had also been overwhelming. It wasn’t an experience that he was eager to repeat.

“So, um, Sarah and a bunch of other people decided it would be fun to have a séance.”

That got Evan’s attention. His head snapped up as he turned to gawk at Tracy. “They did?”

Tracy nodded numbly. “I wasn’t one of them. I, uh, I stumbled across them when I went downstairs to look for Alana. They were sitting in the middle of the basement with all these candles and incense and a Ouija board.”

“They were trying to talk to Joey?” Evan guessed.

“Yeah... They were asking him questions.”

“What kind of questions?”

“I don’t know,” Tracy shrugged. “I... Those things freak me out. I froze for a minute and... The only one I heard was whether that guy... You know, the one who’s in jail...”

“Ricky Donahoe,” Evan filled in.

“Yeah,” Tracy sighed. “Someone asked if Ricky Donahoe really killed him.”

“Who?” Evan demanded. “Who asked that?”

“I don’t know,” Tracy said sheepishly. “I suck, I know... I just... I felt sick. The room reeked of pot and incense and they looked like they were in the start of a slasher movie. It looked like some demonic spirit was going to come bursting out of the ground and kill them all.”

“It’s okay,” Evan assured her. “Did they get an answer?”

“I didn’t stay to watch, but I heard them shouting as I ran back up the stairs. The thing pointed to the word ‘no’ and then to ‘goodbye.’”

Evan leaned back and stared out the window. He’d expected as much. He didn’t believe that Joey had actually been communicating with the group. He didn’t believe that for a second.

He was curious who had moved the planchette though. Was it someone who had been messing around or was it someone who actually suspected something was off about the case?

Was it possible that someone at the party knew what had happened to Joey?

“Who was by the board?” Evan wondered. He looked down and sighed when he saw Tracy’s expression.

“I’m sorry,” Tracy whispered. “I-”

“Was Alana down there?” Evan asked hopefully.

If anyone could give him the full lowdown on the game, it would be Alana Beck.

“No,” Tracy shook her head. “She’d already gone home. She, uh... She forgot to tell me she was leaving.”

Evan nodded to himself and thanked her for her help. He leaned against the door after he’d walked her out.

He could feel a headache brewing in the back of his brain. This was giving him yet another angle that he had to consider.

He knew why his mother had suspected the Murphys. Family members were always the obvious suspects and they had the money to pay someone to take the fall, especially if Kevin Murphy chipped in.

Money wasn’t the only thing that could buy a suspect though. Power and influence could also do the trick.

Which was why Evan couldn’t stop wondering about the Hendersons. Sheriff Henderson had definitely been in a position to alter the case’s direction.

And then there was Amy Henderson, a woman who was being painted as a modern-day Lady Macbeth. A woman who had had affairs with at least three college-age guys. 

A woman who had possibly had an affair with Joey? Evan cringed at the thought. He still couldn’t go there. He couldn’t think about that. Imagining Joey with Sophie Ventura was bad enough.

Except there was one thing that kept nagging at him. A thought that refused to be silenced.

He kept thinking about Amy’s reaction when Jamie Cooper had jokingly accused her of molesting her nephew. Jamie had been talking about Connor, but it was possible that the comment had struck a chord with Amy.

The look on Amy’s face had been bad. She’d been horrified, furious that Jamie would say something like that.

Which made sense, Evan supposed. It wasn’t the kind of thing people joked about. 

Especially if there was some truth to it.

Evan really couldn’t think about that.

It didn’t seem possible, but he was starting to feel like he didn’t know what was and wasn’t possible anymore.


	14. Chapter 14

The club was crowded and smoky and smelled like sweat.

Make that sweat and other bodily fluids that Evan really didn’t want to be smelling.

He kept his head down. He stared at his feet while he walked and hoped that his mother was paying attention to where they were going. He hoped that she remembered to pull him to the side before he smacked into a pole.

He almost ran into her when she came to a stop by the bar. He winced dramatically as she tightened her hold on him.

“Where is she?” Heidi cried. She slammed her free arm on the counter and looked around wildly.

Evan kept his head down. He poked at the floor with his foot and willed himself to look as embarrassed as possible.

That wasn’t a hard thing to do, seeing as how half the clubgoers had turned to gawk at them.

“Where is she?” Heidi yelled again. She looked at Evan and twisted his arm until he blinked up at her. “Do you see her? Is she here?”

“I-I don’t know,” Evan sputtered. “I don’t see her.”

“Is there a problem?”

Heidi spun around to narrow her eyes at the manager hovering behind them. 

“We’re looking for...” Heidi let go of Evan and folded her arms across her chest. 

“I don’t know her name,” Evan mumbled. He gripped the back of his head and breathed in shakily.

“This is unbelievable. My only son goes and knocks up some girl and he doesn’t even bother learning her name!” Heidi shook her head at him disgustedly. “And then he lets me find out about it by leaving the...” Heidi took a breath and closed her eyes. “By leaving that letter, that horrible letter, on our kitchen table.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Evan gasped. 

Heidi stared at him until he pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked the screen. “This is what she looks like.”

It was a blurry picture, which made sense since it was a picture of a picture. Evan lowered his head as his mother snatched the phone from him and shoved it in the manager’s face.

“This girl,” Heidi snarled. “She works here?”

The manager squinted at the screen and shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’ve never seen her, but I’m new. I was transferred here last week.”

Evan leaned against the wall and pretended to pick at his nails while his mother continued to rant. They were attracting an audience.

Which meant that their plan was working.

He scanned the group of girls who were smirking at him. He ruled out the nosy ones, the gigglers, the ones who were way too old to be friends with Hayley.

There, standing in the back, the girl with the curls. The one who was staring at him like she was about to run off and describe him to her good friend Hayley.

Evan coughed and looked away. 

His mother shook her head and thanked the manager for his time. She squeezed Evan’s arm as she dragged him back across the club.

They didn’t say a word until they were both buckled in and the engine was running.

“Well?” Heidi grinned.

“The curly-haired brunette,” Evan said decisively. 

“She knows where Hayley is?”

“She knows Hayley,” Evan nodded. “Or, you know, the girl who used to call herself Hayley.”

Because Hayley Robinson was definitely not going by that name anymore. They didn’t know what name she was using now. Which was really making it so much harder to track her down.

“Okay,” Heidi said. “You think you can talk to her tonight?”

Evan looked at her in alarm. “Why can’t you talk to her?”

“I have to go to Myrtle.”

“The missing ring?” 

Heidi nodded and glanced at him sadly. “It can wait if you’re not up for it. It’s just, well, I feel for them.”

“For Hayley’s parents?”

“I can’t imagine how I’d feel if you decided to run away.”

Evan made a face and stared out the window. “That’s not fair.”

“What?”

“You’re playing the mom card.”

“Well, I am your mother, so...”

“Fine,” Evan sighed. “I’ll come back tonight and talk to her.”

“They have flex hours at that club, so her shift will be over any time between eight and eleven.”

Evan stared at the ceiling and shook his head. “You mean I have to spend three hours staking out a club so I can interrogate a stripper?”

“Entertainer,” Heidi corrected. “Call her a stripper and she won’t tell you a thing.”

“Where am I supposed to sit?” Evan wondered. “You’re taking the car, aren’t you?”

“There’s a diner across the street from the club,” Heidi suggested. “You can camp out there. They’re used to it. They have a lot of homeless customers.”

Evan wanted to ask if she was kidding, but he knew she wasn’t. She really, truly wasn’t.

 

It started to rain as soon as Evan reached the bus stop. That figured. Of course, it was raining. It was that kind of a night.

He ducked under a tree and squinted up at the sky. The bus wasn’t due to get there for another three minutes. He’d be lucky if it arrived before he got soaked.

He should’ve asked Jared for a ride. He would’ve except Jared would have wanted to stay and there was no way he was letting Jared bad cop a stripper.

An entertainer. He really needed to stop using the word stripper.

The sound of a car honking made him jump. His eyes widened when he turned around to see Connor waving at him.

“You need a ride?” Connor called.

Evan didn’t hesitate. He nodded gratefully and threw himself in the car before the sky opened up completely.

“Where are you heading?” Connor asked. He let out a startled laugh when Evan gave him the address. “Why...” He nodded knowingly. “You’re working a case?”

“I’m helping my mom find a missing girl,” Evan explained. “We think she’s been working at Club Sparkle.”

“You know what kind of club that is, don’t you?”

Evan nodded and fidgeted with his bag. 

“Have you talked to your mom about me yet?”

Evan’s blood went cold as he gazed out the window. Less than a minute. It had taken Connor less than a minute to bring that up.

It had been almost a week since Connor had asked about the job opening. Evan had had countless opportunities to say something to his mother, but he hadn’t. He kept telling himself it had slipped his mind, but it hadn’t. He hadn’t forgotten. He knew he should say something.

He’d kind of hoped she would’ve found someone to fill the position on her own and he could just look at Connor and shrug and say she’d hired someone else.

She hadn’t though. And the sign was still hanging in their window.

He wondered if Connor had noticed that.

“Not yet,” Evan finally muttered. “She’s been really busy this week and...”

He shrugged apologetically. “I’ll ask her tomorrow.”

Connor looked at him like he didn’t believe that at all. Evan couldn’t blame him. He didn’t believe himself.

 

Evan reached for the handle but didn’t open the door. The rain was starting to let up, so he couldn’t blame his hesitation on the weather.

He didn’t want to get out of the car. He didn’t want to go into the diner and sit there for hours, nursing a watered-down soda and ignoring the stares from the restaurant’s regulars.

He had to do this though. It wasn’t optional. Not really anyway. Not if he wanted his mother to keep letting him help her with cases like this.

He turned to thank Connor for the ride and was immediately blinded by a flash.

“What the...” Evan muttered. He rubbed at his eyes and gave Connor what he hoped was an annoyed glare.

“Zoe doesn’t believe me,” Connor shrugged. He bit his lip as he studied his phone. “Okay, let’s try that again, but this time you need to lean to the left so I can get the sign too.”

Evan very purposely moved towards the right instead. “What doesn’t Zoe believe?”

“That you spend your Saturday nights lurking outside Club Sparkle,” Connor grinned. “She said you never leave your couch on the weekend unless someone physically forces you out of the house.”

“Okay, on that note...” Evan shook his head and reached for the handle again. “Thanks for the ride.”

“You’re not serious, are you?”

Evan tilted his head uncertainly. “No, I mean it. Thank you. Really. You saved me from getting drenched out there.”

“You don’t actually think I’m leaving you here by yourself, do you?”

“I’m working a case for my mom.”

“I know,” Connor said. “I can’t believe she’s cool with this. She used to be the sheriff. She, of all people, should know what goes on around here at night.”

Evan blinked as he looked down at his bag. Part of him was grateful for the offer. He didn’t actually want to stake out Club Sparkle by himself. 

He didn’t think Connor understood what he was getting himself into though.

“This is going to take a while,” Evan said quickly. “I don’t know when she gets off.”

“Okay,” Connor nodded. “So, what’s the plan then? We sit here until the stripper-”

“The entertainer,” Evan corrected automatically. “I don’t know her name, but she’s young. Maybe twenty. She’s tiny and has thick, curly brown hair. She might not get off for a couple hours.”

“Okay, so we wait.”

“So, we wait,” Evan agreed.

 

Connor shifted in his seat and nearly hit the horn when he went to stretch. He sighed as he turned to face Evan. “My phone’s about to die.”

“Do you have a charger?” Evan asked without looking up.

Connor shook his head and scowled at the windshield. “How long has it been?”

“Forty minutes,” Evan replied. He lowered his flashlight and glanced up at Connor. “I can go to the diner over there if you want to leave.”

Connor looked at him like he’d sprouted a second head. “Do you have your science book in there?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded.

“We have a test next week, don’t we?”

“On Monday.”

“Monday?” Connor frowned. “Are you sure?”

Evan laughed and handed him the text. “Positive.”

Connor drummed his fingers on its spine while he watched the rain. “So, is this how stakeouts usually go?”

“Pretty much.”

Connor’s frown deepened at that. “You just sit around in the dark, doing homework and eating junk food?”

“Sometimes I watch a movie.”

Connor wrinkled his nose as he opened the textbook. “What chapters did Ms. Thomas assign us?”

Evan was about to answer when he spotted a trio of girls heading out of the club. He dropped his notebook on the floor and bolted out of the car as fast as he could.

The girls froze in the middle of the sidewalk and gawked at him as he barreled towards them. He didn’t want to know what he looked like just then. He was sure it wasn’t pretty.

Which was actually a good thing. It went well with his act that afternoon.

The curly-haired entertainer muttered something to her friends. They nodded and eyed Evan warily before getting into a car down the street.

“You know where she is,” Evan said breathlessly.

Okay, so that may not have been the smoothest way to get this going, but it should cement what she thought she knew about him. That he was some sad sack of a guy who’d managed to get her friend pregnant.

The girl looked him up and down. She rolled her eyes and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her purse. “You have a light?”

Evan jumped when he heard a clicking sound behind him. Connor stepped forward and lit her cigarette.

Evan’s face scrunched up at that. He hadn’t realized that Connor had followed him out.

The girl nodded her thanks. “So, why are you looking for Rosie?” 

“I-” Evan began.

“And don’t say you got her pregnant,” the girl smirked. “You aren’t her type.”

Evan could feel his ears turning red when he heard Connor snort behind him.

“I’m not her-” Evan started uncertainly.

“And you are?” Connor cut in. He raised his eyebrows at the girl.

“I’m everyone’s type,” the girl grinned. She nodded at Connor. “I’m Lena, by the way.”

“Connor.”

“Connor,” Lena nodded. “Cute name for a cute guy.”

“Thanks, but you’re not my type.”

“Eh,” Lena shrugged. She narrowed her eyes at Evan. “You didn’t answer my question?”

“We work for a PI,” Connor said when it became clear that Evan’s mouth had gone dry. “We’ve been hired to find your friend.”

“Her name’s Hayley,” Evan managed to mumble.

Lena studied him suspiciously. “Who hired you?”

“Does it matter?” Connor wondered.

“Hell yeah, it does,” Lena laughed. “If it was her asshole parents, you can forget it. I’ll make sure Rosie’s on the first bus out of here.”

Evan forced himself to refrain from looking away. One blink, one stutter, one awkward twitch, would bring this conversation to a skidding stop.

“Her family’s worried about her,” Evan said quietly.

Lena scoffed at that. “Unbelievable... They kick her out and now they’re-”

“They feel bad about what happened,” Evan said quickly. “They-”

Evan sucked in a breath as she turned to go.

“Let me see your phone,” Connor demanded.

“Why?” Lena snapped. She put a hand on her hip as she looked over her shoulder.

“So I can put a tracker in it and we can follow you to Rosie.” Connor rolled his eyes and put out his hand. “So I can give you my number.”

“I thought I wasn’t your type.”

“It’s not for you. It’s for your friend, so she can get in touch with us if she wants.”

“She won’t want to,” Lena cautioned.

“Come on,” Connor said. “Don’t you think you should give her the option?”

He looked at Evan quickly and nodded. “We’re not trying to kidnap her and drag her back to her parents. Our job will be complete if we can give them proof that she’s alive and well.”

“It will?” Lena’s eyebrows shot up as she looked between them.

“Yeah,” Evan nodded.

It was true, technically. Hayley was eighteen. He knew that his mother wouldn’t try to force her to go home if she didn’t want to.

Lena handed her phone to Connor and waved at her friends who were still waiting in the car. “Make it quick. We have places to be.”

She dropped her phone back in her purse and shrugged at them. “Don’t get your hopes up. I doubt she’ll call.”

Connor kept his face blank until Lena’s car was out of sight. He grinned at Evan as soon as it rounded the corner. “So?”

“So what?” He breathed in shakily when he grasped Connor’s meaning. Connor thought this was a tryout. “You still want the job?”

“Sure,” Connor shrugged. His voice was calm, but there was an excited glint in his eyes. 

“I’ll talk to my mom when she gets home,” Evan promised.

And he meant it. This time, he actually meant it.


	15. Chapter 15

Evan did a double take when he saw the tray that the waitress was carrying. He glanced at her quizzically when she started putting the plates on their table. He opened his mouth to correct her, to say that she must have the wrong table, that these orders were clearly meant for the soccer players sitting by the window, but Connor immediately started digging into the burger in front of him.

It took Evan a minute to realize that the only plate she’d put by him was the one containing an order of cheese fries. Which made sense since that was what he’d asked Connor to order him before he went to the bathroom.

“What did you, like, forget to eat today or something?” Evan laughed.

“Mom’s on a juice cleanse,” Connor explained between bites.

Evan snorted and nodded knowingly. “Oh, so nothing but raw fruits and veggies in your house?”

Connor nodded and reached for his root beer. He chugged half the glass before starting on the mozzarella sticks. “And tofu. She found a store that sells tofu in bulk.”

Evan smiled as he grabbed one of his fries. He smiled until he realized that he shouldn’t be smiling. This felt familiar in a slightly painful way. How many times had he listened to Zoe and Joey rant about their mother’s latest health kick? How many times had they dragged him along when they’d gone on a food binge?

“Joey came over one time when she was on the, uh, the thing where she refused to eat processed sugar. He ate an entire bag of jumbo marshmallows by himself. Then he spent the rest of the night vomiting.” Evan eyed Connor suspiciously. “Projectile vomiting. You’re not going to do that, are you?”

“I’ll try to aim it that way if I do,” Connor promised. He jerked his head in the direction of the soccer team.

“You’d purposely throw up on your fellow princes?”

Connor put his burger down and frowned at him. “My what?”

“Half those guys were on the Homecoming Court with you,” Evan reminded him.

“All the more reason to...” Connor shuddered.

“Does that mean you’re not planning to campaign for Prom King too?”

Connor pointed his fork warningly. “Don’t even joke about that in front of my mom, okay?”

Evan shrugged good-naturedly and picked up one of his fries.

Connor reached for his phone when it began to ring. He glanced at Evan excitedly. “It’s an unknown number. Do you think I should answer?”

“I don’t-” Evan started.

“It might be that girl. Rosie-Hayley-whatever she’s going by,” Connor said quickly. He grabbed his phone and slid out of the booth before Evan could respond.

Evan watched as he answered the call and ducked outside. He thought about following Connor out, but their waitress was glaring at him like she thought they were about to skip out on their bill.

Evan poked at his fries until he heard the bench squeak across from him. He blinked when he looked up and saw Alana staring at him.

“I need your help,” Alana hissed. 

“Okay,” Evan said slowly. “With what?”

“Someone’s harassing me,” Alana whispered. She looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes at the waitress. “You may as well come over here if you’re going to be that nosy.”

The waitress flipped her off before darting back into the kitchen.

“My sister,” Alana explained with a shake of her head.

“Someone’s harassing you?” Evan repeated anxiously.

“Yeah,” Alana nodded. “I don’t know who it is. I... This whole week has been insane. Someone let the air out of my tires on Monday, so I was late for school because I had to wait until Alice, my other sister, could drop me off. Then there was a car alarm going off right outside my window all night on Tuesday, so I got, like, an hour of sleep and totally bombed my French quiz.”

Evan raised his eyebrows skeptically.

“I got a B,” Alana sighed. “Which is ridiculous because I always get A’s in French.”

“Okay,” Evan nodded. “And you think this means someone’s harassing you?”

“I’m not done!” Alana cried shrilly. She rubbed her forehead and sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s been a really crappy week.” She absentmindedly reached for one of Evan’s fries. He slid the plate over to her. It was the least he could do.

“So, then on Wednesday, someone ran into me when I was going up the stairs after fifth period and almost knocked me down. And it wasn’t an accident. That was not an accidental shove.”

“Who was it?”

“I don’t know. That’s the problem! They had their hood pulled down so I couldn’t see.”

“Okay,” Evan breathed in quickly. He had to admit that part sounded suspicious.

“On Thursday, I got locked in the bathroom before Trig.”

“How did you get-”

“Someone put a chair against the door so we couldn’t get out until Ms. Jensen moved it. I was late for class and almost got detention.” Alana shook her head irritably. “And, finally, yesterday, there was a note in my locker.”

She handed him a piece of paper and waited for him to read it.

It wasn’t a note. It was a list of names.

“What is this? A hit list? You have to whack all these people or your stalker won’t leave you alone?”

“No,” Alana scoffed. “That’s my list of suspects.”

“Your list of...” Evan nodded to himself. Of course, Alana had already come up with a list of suspects. There were at least a dozen names on there, including...

“You think Tracy’s behind this?” Evan gasped.

“Not really, no,” Alana admitted quietly. “I ranked them from the most likely to the least. That’s why she’s at the bottom.”

“Why’s she on here at all?”

“Because, well...” Alana shook her head. “It’s a long story, but the note warned me to stay away from her or things will keep getting worse.”

Alana rubbed her forehead again and blinked at the lights. “I’d look into this myself, but I don’t have time. I have so many projects and clubs and... My interviews are all next week.”

“Your interviews?”

“My college interviews. I set it up so that I have one every day next week.” Alana’s mouth twisted to the side in a way that made her appear to be deep in thought. “Give me that list.”

“What? Why?”

“Because maybe this has nothing to do with Tracy and has everything to do with college. Maybe someone’s trying to mess with my interviews by distracting me.” She quickly jotted down four more names. “These are the people I know are applying to the same schools I am.”

Evan breathed in sharply as he looked at the list again. “I’ll see what I can do, but-”

“They have to be stopped,” Alana insisted. “It’s getting bad. I had to come here to do my homework tonight because that stupid car alarm was going off again. I would’ve gone to the library, but Tracy’s volunteering there today and...”

“Right, okay,” Evan nodded. “I’ll let you know if I figure it out.”

“I can pay you,” Alana said desperately. “If that’s the problem, I can pay you.”

Evan waved his hand dismissively. “It’s not that. I just have a lot going on too.”

Alana nodded understandingly. “Hey, are you going to be studying for the science test tomorrow?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“Can I study at your house?” Alana asked hopefully. “You usually ace those things, don’t you?”

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Evan shrugged. “I think Jared’s coming over tomorrow afternoon to study. He usually expects me to explain everything to him before a test.”

“I’ll be there around one,” Alana decided. She nodded decisively before sliding out of the booth so that Connor could sit down again.

“What’s going on?” Connor asked curiously. His eyes followed Alana as she went back to the counter.

“We’re going to study for the science test tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Connor nodded. “What time?”

“One.”

“Okay, I’ll be there.” 

Evan frowned as Connor nonchalantly reached for his onion rings. “So?”

“So what?”

“Who was on the phone?”

“Hayley.” Connor laughed and leaned back into the cushions. “You look like you swallowed a lemon.”

“What happened?” Evan demanded.

Connor nibbled on the onion ring and stared at the door. “She agreed to come to your mother’s office on Monday.”

“She did?”

“Under three conditions. One, no one from her family can be there or know that she’s coming. Two, Lena’s coming with her. Three, she wants me to be there too.”

Evan tapped his fingers on the table while he considered Hayley’s conditions. He wondered if Connor had convinced her to add that last one. 

“I guess I should talk to my mom then,” Evan sighed.

“I guess you should,” Connor agreed.

 

Any hope that Evan had had of postponing the conversation with his mother vanished the second Connor pulled up in front of his house.

His mother’s car was in the driveway. The downstairs lights were all on.

His mother was standing by the living room window and watching them.

“Thanks,” Evan muttered as he reached for the handle. He wasn’t totally sure what he was thanking Connor for. The ride? The help with the case? The fries that Connor had insisted on paying for?

Connor stared at the living room window for a moment before looking away. “You said one tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded. He threw the door open and shakily scooped up his bag. 

His mother was waiting for him by the door when he got there.

“We found Hayley,” Evan said brightly. 

“We?” 

Evan didn’t know why she was acting surprised. He knew she’d been watching them. He knew she knew exactly whose car he’d gotten out of.

“Connor and I found her,” Evan muttered. He tightened his hold on his bag while his eyes scanned the room. “He picked me up when he saw me waiting for the bus.”

Evan cleared his throat and made himself look her in the eye. “He’s interested in the job, actually.”

“The job? Our job?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded quickly. “He wants to work for you too.”

Heidi’s mouth formed a thin line as she studied his expression. “You know that can’t happen, don’t you?”

“Why not?” Evan asked shrilly. “He was really helpful tonight. He got Lena – that’s the strip-entertainer’s name – to talk to him. He got her to give Hayley his number. And Hayley called him. She actually called him.”

Heidi glanced at him sadly. “He isn’t Joey, Evan.”

“I know that,” Evan snapped. “He is my friend though and-”

“He’s your friend now?”

Evan thought about it a second before nodding. “Yeah, he’s my friend.”

Evan closed his eyes and took a breath. “He didn’t kill Joey.”

“You can’t be sure of that,” Heidi said gently.

“Yeah, I can,” Evan said quietly. He darted into the living room and grabbed his laptop.

His hands shook while he waited for it to power on. He didn’t look up when he felt the couch sag as his mother sat down beside him. He didn’t look up until he’d opened the video. He angled the screen so she could see.

They watched it twice before Heidi finally reached out to close the laptop.

“How long have you had that?”

“Zoe sent it to me a couple weeks ago,” Evan replied.

“A couple weeks?” Heidi took the laptop from him and stared blankly at the wall. “This doesn’t prove anything.”

“It proves that Connor was running errands that day.”

“It proves that Joey asked him to run errands. It doesn’t prove that he did them.”

“But there was someone else at the house. Someone was visiting Joey that day.”

Heidi nodded slowly. “I agree that that’s worth looking into. This doesn’t prove that someone else was there though. The person could’ve left long before he was killed or they may not have made it to see him at all.”

“Or they could be the real killer.”

“Or that,” Heidi agreed. “It’s a definite possibility.”

Heidi looked at him sternly. “I don’t like that you kept this from me.”

“I know,” Evan admitted.

“I know you’re looking into this case,” Heidi said. She smiled tightly when she saw his expression. “Because I know you and I know it’s driving you crazy.”

“Do you think we should hand this over to the police?”

Heidi bit her lip uncertainly. “When Sheriff Henderson was in charge, I would’ve said no. Absolutely not. I don’t know what Sheriff McKinnon’s going to be like though. He was a decent deputy, but power changes people.”

“Zoe will never speak to me again if we get her in trouble,” Evan whispered.

“I’m thinking we should hold off for now,” Heidi decided. “Zoe’s confession is... Like I said, it’s worth exploring, but it doesn’t actually prove anything.”

“Right,” Evan nodded rapidly.

Heidi glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “You really want to hire Connor?”

“At least on a trial basis,” Evan said. “He’ll have to be there on Monday. That’s the only way we could get Hayley to come see you.”

“She’s going to come see me?” Heidi asked. She studied Evan’s expression again before shrugging. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to give him a shot. I’ll want to have a talk with him first though.”

“He’s expecting that. He’s coming over tomorrow to study for our science test. You can talk to him then if you want.”

“I have to head back to Myrtle.”

“You didn’t find the ring?”

“Oh, no, I did,” Heidi grinned. “I mean, I almost did. I know who has it. I get to reveal that tomorrow.”

Evan tilted his head curiously. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it earlier. She was in a good mood. That explained why she was taking this all so much better than he’d expected.

“Who has it?”

“The butler,” Heidi beamed.

“The butler did it?”

“Can you believe it?”

“No,” Evan laughed. “That’s the dream, isn’t it?”

“Not the dream,” Heidi shrugged. “It’s in the top five though. Definitely top five.”


	16. Chapter 16

The car with the faulty alarm belonged to Owen Daniels. That name didn’t immediately ring any bells with Evan, but a quick search revealed that Owen was Brett Daniels’s older brother.

Evan knew that Brett Daniels was John Rickard’s best friend.

And John Rickard was Tracy Jacobs’s boyfriend. 

So, it would seem that Alana’s instincts had been right. 

Someone was trying to keep her away from Tracy.

Evan had a feeling that it was a team effort. He knew those guys. He hadn’t been friends with them the year before. Acquaintances was more like it. But he knew how they operated. He knew that they very rarely did anything on their own.

Alana didn’t seem surprised when he pulled her aside to tell her what he’d found. She simply nodded and thanked him for looking into it. 

She didn’t want to pursue it any farther than that. 

Evan frowned as he watched her fidget with her backpack. She seemed so resigned to it that he felt like there had to be something he could do. 

“Are you sure-” Evan began.

Alana looked at him sharply and shook her head. “It’s fine. I’ll just stay away from Tracy.”

“But isn’t she your best friend?”

“My high school best friend,” Alana said firmly. “It’s not like we were going to be friends forever.”

Evan opened his mouth and shut it when he saw her expression.

“They threatened Sally,” Alana whispered.

“Sally?”

“My dog,” Alana huffed. “I got a text this morning telling me they’d make her disappear if they see me with Tracy.”

“Someone’s threatening your dog?”

Evan spun around when he heard Jared creep into the room.

“Sorry,” Jared shrugged. “I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. We just need Evan to come back. None of us understand what Ms. Thomas was saying about the greenhouse effect.”

Alana lowered her eyes and bit her lip. “It’s fine, really. Forget I said anything.”

She hurried out of the room without looking up.

“What’s going on?” Jared wondered. He narrowed his eyes warningly. “And don’t say nothing.”

“Someone’s been harassing Alana,” Evan explained. 

“And now they’re threatening her dog?”

Evan nodded mutely.

“You know who it is?”

“She doesn’t want to do anything about it,” Evan said quickly.

Jared’s face went blank as he considered that. “It’s the jocks, isn’t it?”

Evan looked at his oddly. “Why do you say that?”

“I saw Brett and Cal shove a note in Alana’s locker on Friday. I thought that was kind of strange. They were laughing hysterically the whole time.”

Evan didn’t say a word. He didn’t know what he could say. He knew Alana would be annoyed if she heard them discussing this. 

“They have to stop doing stuff like this,” Jared said firmly. “They can’t go around threatening dogs and taping people to flag poles.”

Evan’s head shot up at that. No wonder Jared was getting himself so worked up about this. He was taking it personally. Very personally, judging from the look on his face.

Jared tapped his chin thoughtfully. “You usually bring your laptop to school, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded.

“Good,” Jared grinned.

Evan blinked as he watched Jared head back to the others. He knew that look. He knew what it meant.

He was starting to think it would be a good idea to leave his laptop at home that week.

 

Evan got to school early the next day. His mother was heading out of town, so his only option was to go in early.

His only option unless he decided to take the bus or get a ride with Jared. And neither of those felt like real options to him that day. The school bus was always a nightmare and he didn’t want to give Jared the chance to pull him into his scheme.

Because Jared was definitely working on some kind of misguided revenge scheme. Evan was certain of that by the time their study group broke up. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Jared was definitely up to something.

And he’d managed to rope Zoe into it. Evan was also certain of that. He’d seen the way they were whispering to each other. He’d seen the looks they kept throwing in his direction. He’d heard Zoe ask Alana questions about her dog.

Evan knew that Zoe had a soft spot for animals. Just hearing that John and his friends had threatened a dog would be enough to make her want to help Jared with whatever he was planning.

So, Evan decided his safest option was to have his mother drop him off at school an hour early.

Which meant that he was one of the first people in the building. He didn’t mind that though. It was actually kind of a relief to be able to get himself settled without the usual hustle and bustle of the crowd.

He put his things away and went to sit on the floor outside his homeroom since he knew it wasn’t open yet. He stopped and took a detour when he spotted Tracy sitting on a windowsill across from the library.

He knew he shouldn’t pursue this. He knew that it was none of his business, that Alana hadn’t filled him in for a reason. He knew that hearing the full story may make him decide to help Jared.

He really hoped that wasn’t the case. He liked going to the parking lot after school and finding his car in the same condition he’d left it in. He liked being able to drive out of there without having to change a tire first. He liked being able to return the car to his mother without having to acknowledge the latest scratch he’d found on it.

He was curious though and his curiosity was winning yet again.

Evan perched on the ledge next to Tracy and stared at her until she looked up at him.

“You’re not Alana,” Tracy laughed. She clumsily pushed her hair behind her ears. “Have you seen her? We were going to go over our notes before the test.”

“I don’t think she’s coming,” Evan said quietly.

Tracy hugged her notebook to her chest and tilted her head. “She’s not?”

Evan took a breath. There were two ways he could do this. He could try to come up with subtle questions that would make Tracy talk. Or he could be direct.

It was too early to be anything other than direct.

“What’s going on with you two?” Evan wondered.

Evan looked away as a flash of panic crossed Tracy’s face. Make that panic laced with guilt. 

“Um,” Tracy chuckled. “What?”

“I mean, something must be going on, right? Otherwise, why would your boyfriend’s friends be targeting her?”

Tracy sat up straight and gaped at him. “What’re you talking about?”

Evan hadn’t thought that Tracy knew what was happening, but any doubt he may have had about that vanished when he saw her face. He knew Tracy wasn’t that good of an actress. He’d seen her in _Grease_ the year before.

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Evan muttered.

And he meant it. He really should not have opened his mouth. He should’ve left this alone. It wasn’t any of his business. Except he was making it his by talking to Tracy. He was making it his business and very possibly invoking Alana’s wrath.

Which really should have been enough to make him run away from Tracy, but she was looking at him with a mixture of horror and fear and curiosity that made him want to help her get to the bottom of this.

“So,” Evan sighed. “You and Alana...”

He didn’t know how to finish that sentence. He glanced at Tracy hopefully. He leaned back against the wall when it became clear that he didn’t have to say anything else.

“It’s John,” Tracy whispered. Her eyes flickered around the hall quickly. She breathed in when she saw that it was still empty. “He’s had a problem with Alana for a couple months now.”

“Why?”

“Because...” Tracy stared down at her hands and took another breath. “We got into this... Not a fight, an argument. Kind of. I don’t know. He was making all these comments and I just... It was stupid. It was late and I was sick of hearing him say all those things, so I told him that I’m not straight.”

Evan struggled to keep his face blank as he turned to face her. That was not what he’d been expecting to hear. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting to hear, but... That put this in a new light. It actually helped him make sense of this.

“Okay,” Evan said encouragingly when Tracy didn’t go on.

“I’m not gay,” Tracy said swiftly. “I like John. I-I like guys, but...” She shrugged. “I’m not limiting myself to them.”

“And Alana-”

“I don’t know,” Tracy interrupted. “We’re close and I guess it made John wonder. He didn’t really say anything about it until...”

Evan glanced at her expectantly. “Until what?”

“A couple weeks ago, we were all hanging out and we got bored and...” She laughed shortly. “We started playing truth or dare. Because, you know, we’re twelve.”

“Okay,” Evan nodded.

“And it got weird. Silly weird. Stupid weird. Like... I don’t know. Brett dared John to drink a cup of salt water, so John dared Cal to sing the alphabet backwards while hanging upside down from a stool. Then they started asking questions. Like, they took off their shirts and asked me who looked the best. Things like that. Things to make me tell John how hot he is.”

Tracy twisted her hands together and looked around again. She squeezed her eyes shut when she saw that they were still alone.

“So, then Cal dared me to kiss the hottest person in the room. And... I don’t know. Something inside me snapped and I...” Tracy laughed and scratched at her neck. “I kissed Alana.”

Tracy shook her shoulders and stretched her legs out in front of her. “So, then I was all, ‘you said the hottest person, not the hottest guy.’ And John got mad and stormed out and...” She stared down at her lap. “Alana ran away. Like, ran away-ran away. She went home. And I was stranded. I had to call my mom to come get me. And then John walked me out and started saying all these things to her and...

“I got mad and... I don’t know. John and I are barely speaking now. I don’t even know if we’re still together. And my mom’s freaked. My parents can’t deal with things like this.” Tracy sighed and looked him in the eye. “And now you’re telling me that people are harassing Alana?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded. “They told her to stay away from you or they’ll go after her dog.”

“Sally?” Tracy squeaked. “Oh my God. Okay... What’s the plan?”

“Plan?”

“You have one, right? Or you wouldn’t be here. You wouldn’t be telling me this if you didn’t have a plan.”

“I don’t have one,” Evan admitted. He bit his lip as he watched a group of students enter the school. “But I think Jared does.”

 

Not only did Jared have a plan, but he’d managed to get it rolling in record time. He caught up with Evan at his locker before the first bell rang and announced that they were taking down the jocks after school.

Evan would’ve said no, but his talk with Tracy made him feel like he should do something.

He listened to what Jared had come up with and decided to go along with it. He didn’t know if it was a good idea. He didn’t know if it would work. He didn’t think he wanted to know exactly what he was getting himself into. 

He was actually fairly certain that it was a terrible idea that could backfire spectacularly, but he didn’t say that. It wasn’t like he had a better plan in mind.

He texted his mom that he would be late for work that afternoon. He told Connor to go ahead without him. He felt guilty when he did that.

He couldn’t blame Connor for not wanting to go the office alone. He sent his mother a text, reminding her to be nice. She responded by saying that she was always nice.

That statement wasn’t even close to being reassuring, but he tried not to think about that as he went to meet Tracy and Alana.

 

“This is a mistake, isn’t it?” Tracy hissed as they made their way down the hall. 

“It isn’t too late to back out,” Alana reminded her. “You don’t have to be there. They don’t have to know you’re involved.”

“Oh, no, I doing this,” Tracy said decisively. “I’m burning all those bridges today.” She looked at Evan nervously. “How bad is it?”

“How bad is what?” Evan asked.

“What you did,” Tracy whispered. “Is it hard going back to being a nobody?”

“You aren’t a nobody,” Alana said.

“I know, but...” Tracy stopped and stared at Evan. “What’s it like?”

“It’s fine,” Evan shrugged. “I’m doing okay.”

“Right,” Tracy nodded. “You seem...”

Evan shook his head at her hesitation. “You’ll be fine.” He wrinkled his nose as a thought occurred to him. “Do you know how to change a tire?”

“No,” Tracy yelped. “I have no idea how to do that.”

“I can teach you,” Alana offered brightly.

Kelsey Murphy ran up to them as soon as they rounded the corner. She grabbed Evan’s arm and pulled him to the side.

“We can do this for real if you want,” Kelsey said excitedly. 

“This?” Evan blinked. “The site?”

“Yeah,” Kelsey grinned. “I whipped this together during lunch, but I can make it better if you want to try it for real.”

“Um,” Evan laughed. “I don’t-”

“Think about it,” Kelsey cut in. “We could make a fortune.”

“Kelsey,” Zoe cautioned as she poked her head out of the classroom. “We’ve talked about this. You should only use your powers for good, not evil.”

“Eh,” Kelsey shrugged. “This isn’t evil. Impish, maybe.”

“Kels,” Zoe said slowly. “You don’t need the money.”

Kelsey made a face and shifted from foot to foot. “It’s not about the money. I want to make a name for myself.”

“Don’t tell me you’re getting to be like Josh,” Zoe laughed.

“No,” Kelsey huffed. “I just... I-”

Kelsey’s mouth snapped shut as she nodded down the hall. “They’re coming.”

Evan followed the girls into the classroom. Jared was already sitting at one of the desks, editing a video.

Evan laughed when he looked at the screen. “How did you get them to do that?”

“Zoe can be very persuasive when she wants to be,” Jared said. 

Jared and Zoe had spent their lunch period filming John and his friends for one of Zoe’s videos. Apparently, the guys had been so eager to be in it that they hadn’t questioned any of Zoe’s requests.

Evan narrowed his eyes at Jared as he watched Brett pretend to make out with a tree. “You just had to include that, didn’t you?”

Jared smirked and replayed the clip. “What can I say? You inspire me.”

Evan opened his laptop as the jocks filed into the room. Kelsey plopped down next to him and did the same.

“See,” Kelsey whispered. “I really think we have something here. With my programming skills and your sleuthing expertise, we could make this thing explode.”

Evan glanced at her screen and shook his head. He had to admit it looked good, especially for something that had been thrown together that quickly. 

“My mom would kill me,” Evan muttered.

Kelsey blinked and tapped her fingers on the desk. “Yeah, I know. My parents would hit the roof too, but that would be half the fun!” She sat up straight when Zoe turned to glare at them. “Showtime.”

Evan opened his browser and turned towards Kelsey. “John still subscribes to Highlights magazine.”

“Well, that’s adorable,” Kelsey cooed. Her face lit up as she glanced at John. “Are you a Goofus or a Gallant?”

John’s eyes widened as he watched Kelsey type. “What... How did you know that?”

“Dude,” Brett snickered. “Seriously?”

“My grandma gives it to me for Christmas each year,” John mumbled.

“Brett has gotten fourteen red light tickets in the last six months,” Evan continued. “Cal’s parents-”

“Shut up!” Cal barked.

Evan immediately stopped talking and raised his eyebrows at Zoe.

“What is this?” Cal spat.

“Expose Your Foes,” Kelsey proclaimed. She waved her hands excitedly. 

“Expose your...” Cal’s face scrunched up as he scowled at her. “What?”

“My latest site,” Kelsey explained. “You guys have the honor of being our guinea pigs.”

She tilted her head at Evan. “So, Cal’s parents-”

“No, uh-uh,” Cal cried. He froze when Jared turned his laptop so that they could see the video he was working on. “What the hell is this?”

Tracy stepped forward and glared at John. “You all are going to leave Alana alone.”

John’s head flew from side to side as he gawked at his friends. “What-”

“I’m serious,” Tracy snapped. “She’s my friend. If you have a problem with that, then you have a problem with me and...” 

Tracy’s voice trailed off as John seemed to catch her drift.

“You’re breaking up with me?” John scoffed.

Tracy nodded numbly. “And telling you to leave Alana alone.”

“To leave all of us alone,” Zoe added. She nodded at the three computers. “None of this will go public if you cooperate, if you make sure your group cooperates.”

John stared at her a moment before saying, “Joey would never-”

Zoe put up a hand to stop him. “Joey would’ve kicked all of your asses if you even thought about going after Alana. And he definitely would’ve gone public with this if he heard you’d threatened her dog.”

“We can go public too,” Cal countered. “We can go online and tell people how you bullied us.”

“You can if you want,” Zoe shrugged. “I was thinking about doing an anti-bullying video soon anyway. Joey wanted to do one before he died.”

She swallowed audibly at that and took a step backwards.

The room fell silent as John and his friends digested what they were hearing. They gaped at each other and shrugged and muttered something that Evan couldn’t understand.

Kelsey pulled herself up to call after them as they stalked out of the room. “So, I’ll keep this saved on here just in case, okay?”

She leaned back in her chair when they were gone. “That was fun.”

 

Evan checked the time as he closed his locker. If he hurried, he could catch the late bus home. It was too late to go to the office. He knew that for a fact. His mother and Connor had both texted him that Hayley and Lena were gone. 

He didn’t know what that meant. He didn’t know if it was a good thing. He didn’t know why both of their texts had been identically vague.

Zoe was waiting for him by the entrance. It took Evan a second to realize that he was the reason she was standing there.

She looked up when she saw him approaching and nodded. “You ready?”

“For what?” Evan blinked.

“To go home,” Zoe laughed. 

“To... What?”

“We’re having dinner at your house,” Zoe said uncertainly. “You didn’t know that?”

“By we, you mean-”

“Connor called to tell me your mom invited us over,” Zoe explained. “Apparently, she felt bad for us when Connor told her about Mom’s juice cleanse.”

“Oh,” Evan mumbled. 

“Is that okay?” Zoe asked anxiously.

Evan glanced at her as they walked towards the parking lot. “Yeah. It’s fine.”

Zoe absentmindedly twirled a strand of hair around her finger. “I mean, we’re friends now, right?”

“Right,” Evan nodded.

And he meant it. He was relieved to realize that he actually did. He’d missed being able to call her a friend. They’d spent more time being friends than they had being boyfriend/girlfriend. 

He knew it would have broken Joey’s heart if he thought they weren’t in each other’s lives anymore.

“And you’re friends with Connor,” Zoe observed. 

“Yeah,” Evan nodded again. He opened the door and climbed into the car. He turned to look at her when she didn’t immediately start the engine.

“He isn’t Joey, you know,” Zoe said quietly.

“I know,” Evan assured her. “You aren’t the first person to remind me about that.”

“Me too,” Zoe sighed. “I mean, everyone in my family thinks I’m trying to make Connor fill in for Joey. All because I asked him if he can sing.”

“You did?”

“It was a joke,” Zoe snapped defensively. She laughed when she saw his face. “Shut up! It was... For the most part.”

“Can he?” Evan asked curiously.

“No idea,” Zoe shrugged. “He refused to answer the question.”

She straightened herself up to stare at him. “I’m glad you’re friends with Connor. He could use a friend.”

Evan nodded slightly.

“He’s been through a lot,” Zoe continued. “We all have, but... This year’s been hard for him. He’s the one who found Joey, you know.”

“I know,” Evan said.

“You... Right, of course, you do,” Zoe huffed. She stared blankly ahead. “And, well, you know he’s had problems with... A lot of things.”

“I know,” Evan said again.

“Look, it’s just...” Zoe bit her lip and looked away. “Connor doesn’t have friends. He’s never... As far as I know, he’s never had an actual friend before. He doesn’t know... So, can you just promise me you’ll...”

Evan squinted at her when she didn’t go on. “Are you trying to give me a ‘don’t hurt my brother or I’ll end you’ speech?” 

“Do I need to?” Zoe asked sharply.

“No,” Evan promised.

Zoe nodded to herself and put the key in the ignition.

“You’re lucky I’m in a forgiving mood today. He’s mad at you right now,” Zoe smiled slyly.

Evan blinked at her dazedly. “He is? Why?”

“Because you ditched him this afternoon.”

“I was helping-”

“I know,” Zoe laughed. “And he does too. He’s still pissed that you didn’t show though.”

“He can’t be that mad or he wouldn’t be eating dinner at my house,” Evan decided.

“I wouldn’t bank on that,” Zoe grinned. “You’ve had dinner at my house when Mom’s on a juice cleanse.”

 

They were having spaghetti for dinner.

Evan knew that as soon as he opened the door and smelled his grandmother’s special sauce. 

He sniffed and did a double take because, well, he hadn’t thought this night could get any weirder but apparently he’d been wrong.

Not only had his mother invited Connor and Zoe over for dinner, but she was cooking.

Actually cooking, not adding cheese to a frozen pizza and claiming that she’d improved it.

“Oh my God, that smells amazing,” Zoe gushed as she hung up her coat. 

She repeated herself when she stepped into the kitchen and breathed in the aromas.

Evan raised his eyebrows at his mother and looked away when she did the same.

“A word of advice,” Heidi said brightly. “When you have a real job with a real boss, who isn’t your mother, showing up for work isn’t optional.”

“I know,” Evan muttered. “We were-”

“Taking down a group of jocks,” Heidi filled in. “I heard.”

Evan’s head snapped up as he looked between his mother and Connor.

“Good thing you found me a second assistant,” Heidi beamed.

“You got the job?” Evan asked Connor.

“No thanks to you,” Connor scoffed. But there was a smile on his face. Evan was relieved when he saw that.

“Your mom and I are like this now,” Connor grinned. He lifted his hand and crossed two of his fingers together.

“You are?” Evan tried and failed to mask his surprise.

“He’s good at talking to people,” Heidi said. “He got through to Hayley today. She agreed to meet with her parents tomorrow.”

“I get where she’s coming from,” Connor shrugged.

“Do you need any help?” Zoe offered. Evan bit his lip to keep from laughing when he saw that she was practically salivating.

“You can toss the salad if you want,” Heidi suggested. She nodded at the dining room. “Evan can set the table.”

Evan nodded automatically and went to do just that. He could hear his mother and Connor telling Zoe about their meeting with Hayley while he laid out the dishes.

Connor sounded excited, almost proud of what he’d done.

His mother did too. Evan strained his ears to listen to her tone. It sounded genuine. It sounded like she meant what she was saying.

Evan hoped his interpretation was right. It would make things easier for him if it was.

And it would significantly decrease the odds that Zoe would end up kicking his butt for upsetting her brother.


	17. Chapter 17

Jared lifted his head up just enough to catch Evan’s eye. “Here’s a mystery for you. What is Henry doing every Wednesday night that he doesn’t want anyone to know about?”

Evan blinked as he looked from his computer to Jared and back again. “What?”

Jared groaned as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. “Henry, the guy who is completely embarrassment-proof, just refused to tell me where he’s going tonight. He said it’s none of my business.”

“It is none of your business,” Connor called from his desk. He spun around and answered the phone on the first ring. “Hansen Investigations, this is Connor speaking. How can we help you today?”

Jared snorted at Connor’s professionalism. “What is your mom, like, offering some kind of reward to whichever one of you she picks as employee of the month?”

Evan shook his head slightly. “So, Henry...”

“I texted him to see what he wants to do for dinner tonight since our parents are going out and he wrote back that he’s busy. Then I realized that he’s been busy every Wednesday night for the last month. So, I asked him about it and he told me to mind my own business.”

Jared tapped his chin and grinned. “It must be really embarrassing if he won’t tell me. The guy once admitted that he has a thing for Miss Piggy.”

Evan nodded absentmindedly and stared at the screen as his inbox refreshed itself. His father had written back already. His hand hovered above the mouse while he debated whether he wanted to open the email.

He sighed as he decided to suck it up. Ignoring his father wasn’t an option. No good could come from that. 

He slammed his laptop shut when he finished reading it. He wasn’t surprised when he looked up and saw that Jared and Connor were both gawking at him.

“What’s wrong?” Connor asked softly.

Evan shook his head and balled his hands into fists. “Nothing... Just my dad...”

“Your dad’s writing to you?” Jared gasped. “He isn’t trying to kidnap you again, is he?”

Connor frowned as he looked between them. “Your dad tried to kidnap you?”

“He wanted me to move in with him last spring after... after everything,” Evan explained. “He didn’t bring that up this time. He just wants me to fly out there for Thanksgiving.”

“For Thanksgiving?” Jared laughed. “He wants to get you a last-minute ticket? Does he have any idea how expensive those are?”

“It’s my fault,” Evan sighed. “I made the mistake of telling him that my mom’s out of town.”

Evan leaned back in his chair and stared blankly at the wall. He didn’t know why he’d said that. He should’ve made something up. He should’ve told his dad that they were celebrating the holiday with friends, that his grandmother was coming to see them, that they were going to spend the day working at a soup kitchen.

Anything would’ve been better than the truth, that his mother had left town to track down a bail jumper.

“What’re you doing for Thanksgiving anyway?” Jared asked curiously.

“Nothing,” Evan shrugged. “My mom should be back by Saturday. We’ll do our usual turkey sandwiches and Charlie Brown thing then.”

“I’d say you can come to my house, but I wouldn’t wish that on anyone,” Jared cringed. “Henry’s invited a bunch of people from his acting class. It’s going to be a freaking nightmare.”

Evan looked away when he saw that Connor was studying him. He tried to ignore the pounding in his chest. He hoped that Connor wasn’t planning to invite him over for Thanksgiving. He considered Connor and Zoe his friends, but he wasn’t ready to take on the rest of their family. He was not in the mood to spend the day saying that why, yes, he was the son of the woman who had hounded the Murphy family after Joey’s death. 

His phone buzzed before Connor had a chance to voice whatever it was he was thinking. Evan eagerly grabbed it and blinked when he saw the text from his father.

“They’re coming here,” Evan muttered.

“Who?” Connor wondered.

“My dad and his family.” Evan shook his head disbelievingly. “They’ve decided to come see me tomorrow.”

 

Their dinner options were extremely limited. There weren’t many restaurants open on Thanksgiving night. Out of the seven that they called, only three restaurants could accommodate them and two of them didn’t have children’s menus.

And that was how they ended up at Aloha, the new Hawaiian-Jamaican-Indian fusion restaurant that had just opened up on the outskirts of town.

This was definitely shaping up to be the weirdest Thanksgiving Evan had ever had.

Deep down, he knew that the holidays weren’t easy for a lot of people. Not everyone dreamt of white Christmases and dashing through the snow. Not everyone had a warm, happy family to go home to.

Evan had a feeling that most people didn’t feel this awkward around their family though. He barely knew his stepmother, Lisa, and he’d only met his half-siblings once. He didn’t know how to talk to kids, which really wasn’t a surprise since he often felt like he didn’t know how to talk to anyone. They were cute though. Liam was in the second grade and looked a lot like Evan. He was quiet. So quiet that Evan had to lean forward to hear him every time he spoke. Ella, on the other hand, was a perky kindergartener who only stopped talking when she was playing with her mom’s phone.

The restaurant was crowded and noisy. So noisy that Evan could barely hear anything his dad and Lisa said, which was actually kind of a good thing. It didn’t take him long to get tired of their questions.

Yes, he was done with his applications. No, he didn’t know where he was going to school next year. No, he had no idea if he was going to get any of the scholarships he’d applied for. No, he wasn’t sure what he wanted to major in.

That one caught his father off-guard. He stared at Evan before exchanging a look with Lisa. His tone was eerily calm when he asked Evan if he was planning to be a detective like his mother.

Evan was glad when the bongo player chose that moment to launch into an extremely enthusiastic solo.

 

Evan should have known better than to think that Thanksgiving dinner would be it. He should’ve known better than to think that his father’s family would travel all that way just to have one meal with him.

They were staying with one of his father’s high school friends. Evan was happy to hear that. He was happy to hear that they hadn’t assumed they could stay with him.

Evan muttered a quick thank you before scrambling out of the car. He froze when his father grabbed his arm and announced that he would be back to get Evan in the morning.

Evan blinked at that. He blinked even harder when his father informed him that they were going to the big Saturn-Myrtle football game.

His father said it like that was obvious. Like that was always how Evan had been planning to spend Black Friday.

“It’ll just be the two of us,” Dan said brightly. “Lisa’s going to take the kids to the zoo.”

“Uh, sure, great,” Evan nodded swiftly. He forced himself to smile. He hoped that it seemed genuine, but he was fairly certain that it made him look constipated.

 

Going to a football game with his father was totally different than going to a game with his mother.

His father actually wanted to watch the game, for one.

And he wanted to socialize.

He’d been wrong when he told Evan that it would just be the two of them. His friend, Mark, was there and he brought his nephew, a junior named Kyle who was way more interested in the game than Evan was.

Dan made sure to spend some time alone with Evan though. They wandered around the school before the game started. Evan listened as his father pointed to various rooms and told him stories about his high school years.

“Is that still the Home Ec classroom?” Dan asked.

“I don’t think we have a Home Ec class anymore,” Evan said uncertainly. “That’s Ms. Porter’s room. She teaches English.”

“Oh,” Dan shrugged. “Well, that’s where I met your mom.”

“In Home Ec?”

“Yeah,” Dan grinned. “Mrs. Alexander asked me to tutor her because she was failing. She couldn’t, for the life of her, figure out how to bake a batch of brownies without burning them.”

“Mom almost failed Home Ec?” Evan snorted.

“Yup. She said she was too busy with her band to worry about a class that should be an easy A.”

Evan’s mouth dropped open at that. “Mom was in a band?”

“She was the drummer. You know her friend Maggie?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded.

“She was the lead singer. They weren’t bad, actually. I probably have a video of them somewhere. I can send it to you if you want.”

“Definitely,” Evan laughed.

Dan glanced around eagerly as they made their way towards the field. “Do you see any of your friends?”

Evan bit his lip and looked down. “Uh, no... I...”

“You can sit with them if you want,” Dan offered. “Mark said a bunch of guys we went to school with are coming today. I know that won’t be much fun for you.”

Evan’s eyes widened as he looked up. “I-I don’t mind.”

He did mind. He really, really did. Riding in the car with Mark had been bad enough. It wasn’t that Mark was a bad person. He was just loud. And boisterous. He was exactly the kind of person who unintentionally made Evan want to curl into a ball and hide.

But what was he supposed to tell his dad? That he wasn’t popular? That he didn’t have a lot of friends? That the few friends he did have wouldn’t be caught dead at the big post-Thanksgiving game?

He did a double take when he looked up again. He resisted the urge to rub his eyes when he saw Connor standing by the bleachers.

“Oh, uh, there’s my friend Connor,” Evan said hurriedly.

Dan’s face lit up until he saw where Evan was looking. “Connor... Isn’t that...”

Dan’s mouth formed a thin line as he stopped speaking abruptly.

Evan fought back a sigh. His father recognized Connor. Not because he’d met him before. Because he’d seen the news clips, he’d read the articles, he knew all about the Joey Murphy case.

Connor looked even more surprised to see Evan than Evan had been to see him. He smirked as he walked over to them.

“What’re you doing here?” Evan laughed.

“Zoe’s singing the national anthem,” Connor explained. “I’m here to show my support.”

There was a definite edge to his tone, but he didn’t seem all that mad about it.

“Oh,” Evan nodded. He gestured at his father. “Um, well, this is my dad. Dad, this is Connor.”

“Nice to meet you,” Dan smiled politely. “You said your sister’s singing today? Your sister’s Zoe Murphy, isn’t she?”

“Yeah,” Connor nodded.

“I’ll have to record her performance for Lisa. My wife is obsessed with Zoe’s new single. She’s been playing it nonstop for days.”

“You mean _Heartbeat_?” 

“Is that its name?” Dan frowned. “I don’t know. Whatever it’s called.”

“You know that’s about Evan, don’t you?”

Dan let out a startled laugh as he turned to gape at Evan. “No! Evan failed to mention that.”

Evan blinked and looked down. “You didn’t ask...”

“I didn’t...” Dan shook his head. “Wait ‘til Lisa hears that. She’ll want your signature.”

Dan waved at a guy sitting a few rows up. “There’s Pete. I’ll be over there if you need me. I’ll meet you in the parking lot after the game?”

“Okay,” Evan muttered. He could feel his face heating up as his father went to sit with his friends. 

“So, that’s your dad,” Connor said.

“That’s my dad,” Evan sighed.

Connor looked at him strangely. “He seems nice.”

“He is,” Evan agreed. “We’re just... I’m not like him, you know.”

“You’re not nice?”

“I’m not... He was popular in high school. Well, maybe not popular, but he had friends.”

“You have friends,” Connor reminded him.

“He had more friends than I do. And... I don’t know. He had girlfriends. Half his stories today were about all the girls he dated when he went here.” Evan shuddered as a thought popped into his head. “I’ll never be able to look at the supply closet on the third floor the same way again.”

“Well, you had a breakup song written about you,” Connor pointed out. “That puts you in the same category as Warren Beatty.”

“And Dave Coulier,” Evan chuckled. “At least Zoe’s song isn’t an angry one. It’s just...”

He didn’t know how to describe it. He didn’t think he could describe it fairly. It was sad, kind of wistful, sweet in a poetic way. Extremely embarrassing when his classmates serenaded him with it.

Those moments really made him wish he could go back to being the invisible guy no one noticed.

“You want to sit down?” Evan asked. He looked away when he saw Connor’s expression. “You weren’t planning to stay.”

“Football’s not my thing,” Connor shrugged.

“Yeah,” Evan nodded. “I’m only here because of my dad.”

“I can give you a ride home if you want to leave.”

“Nah,” Evan shook his head. “I should... You know. My dad.”

“Right,” Connor nodded. He blinked as he stared at something over Evan’s shoulder.

Evan turned to watch as Jared came barreling towards them.

“Guess what?” Jared hissed. He didn’t bother waiting for them to respond. “I found out where Henry’s been going on Wednesdays.”

Evan barely managed to ask where before Jared continued on.

“Couples counseling with Sophie Ventura. Couples counseling at her church, with her pastor, because – get this – they’re getting married.”

“Your brother and Sophie?” Evan gasped.

“Yup,” Jared laughed. “Day after we graduate, my brother is marrying Sophie Ventura.”

“Is she pregnant?” Connor asked.

Jared’s mouth dropped as he looked at Connor. “Oh my God.”

“She’s not-” Connor began.

“He knocked her up,” Jared moaned. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. She’s totally pregnant!”

Jared shook his head as he turned to watch the cheerleaders warm up. “She shouldn’t be doing flips while she’s carrying a child, should she?”

Jared stepped forward and waved his arms at the girls. “Hey, Sophie!”

Evan leapt forward and pulled him back as quickly as he could. “Don’t!”

Jared shrugged Evan off and turned to glare at him. “What? That’s my future niece or nephew she’s carrying!”

“We don’t know she’s pregnant,” Evan whispered. “They might just... They might just be really in love!”

He didn’t know that he actually believed that, but he felt like it needed to be said. Truthfully, though, his mind had gone straight to the same place as Connor’s. An unexpected pregnancy seemed like the most logical reason for a pair of teenagers to get married.

“Maybe,” Jared said doubtfully. “I’m going to go ask Henry.” He nodded towards the stands. “My family’s sitting up there if you want to join us.”

“Sure,” Evan said automatically. He turned to say goodbye to Connor and was surprised to see that he was right behind them.

“You’re staying?” Evan asked.

Connor grinned as he watched Jared climb the stairs. “Jared’s about to ask his brother if he knocked up Sophie Ventura? There’s no way I’m missing that.”


	18. Chapter 18

Evan was surprised to see that Jared possessed at least a small amount of tact.

Or maybe he just lost his nerve when he saw his family.

Evan nodded to himself when he saw Jared’s face. Yeah, he had definitely lost his nerve.

Which was probably a good thing. It would’ve been a very awkward afternoon if Jared had confronted Henry in front of their entire extended family.

Evan settled himself down on the bench next to Jared and watched as Henry stood up to greet Connor. He knew he’d dodged a bullet when he sat down quickly. He probably should’ve warned Connor not to sit next to Henry. 

He bit his lip to keep from laughing as Henry tried to subject Connor to one of his signature handshakes. Connor finally plopped down on the bench and scooted over so that he was seated as far from Henry as he could manage. 

“I can’t believe that guy’s going to be a dad,” Connor whispered to Evan.

Evan snorted and looked away when Henry turned to see what they were laughing at.

 

The game was loud and Jared’s family definitely contributed to the noise. Henry and Jared’s father were the loudest ones in the group, which really wasn’t a surprise. Evan felt sorry for Jared as he tried to figure out what his father and brother were screaming about. He always seemed to stand up a second too late.

Evan knew he shouldn’t be one to talk though. He had no idea what was happening. Almost no idea. He knew the basics thanks to gym class and the one game his dad had taken him to when he was seven, but he didn’t really care enough to try to keep score.

He followed the group down to the concession stand at half-time. He waited off to the side with Connor while Jared went to buy a pretzel.

“Are you going to stay?” Evan asked.

“May as well,” Connor shrugged. He gestured at a group of girls standing in line for the bathroom. “I promised Zoe I’d come back and get her, so...”

“And Jared still hasn’t asked Henry,” Evan grinned.

“That too,” Connor agreed. He scratched at his neck and dropped his gaze in a way that made Evan spin around nervously.

Henry was standing right behind them. Evan quickly replayed their conversation and tried to determine if they’d said anything incriminating.

He didn’t think they had, but Henry’s expression was strangely serious.

“So, I guess Jared told you the news,” Henry said brightly.

“Yeah,” Evan nodded. “Congratulations. That’s, uh... Wow. Can’t believe you’re getting married.”

“Thanks,” Henry beamed. “So, since I have you for a second, I wanted to ask...”

Evan’s eyes widened as he stared at Henry. “Ask what?”

“Jared’s going to be my best man,” Henry began.

“I am?” Jared went into a coughing/choking fit as he walked over to them.

“Well, yeah,” Henry scoffed. “Of course, you are.”

“Oh,” Jared muttered. He looked slightly panicked at the idea. Evan couldn’t blame him for that.

“Sophie has a ton of girlfriends,” Henry went on. “She’s going to have at least a dozen bridesmaids. Probably more if she gets her way. So, I need to, uh... I was wondering if you’d be one of my groomsmen.”

“Me?” Evan squeaked. “Um...”

He glanced at Jared and Connor helplessly. It would be rude to say no. He knew that. And he knew his mother would hear about it if he did. And she’d ask why he’d said no and...

He’d known Henry his whole life, so he supposed he shouldn’t be shocked by this. They weren’t friends though. Not really. But if Henry really did need to pad his wedding party, he supposed that he was a logical addition.

“Sure,” Evan muttered. “Yeah, I can do that.”

“Great,” Henry smiled. 

Evan swallowed sharply when Henry lifted his hands, but he didn’t go for a handshake. He actually gave Evan two thumbs up.

Connor’s face went blank as Henry suddenly directed his attention towards him. 

“We don’t really know each other,” Connor reminded him.

“Yeah, I know,” Henry said quickly. He turned to get in line but stopped when Jared grabbed his arm.

“Is she pregnant?” Jared hissed.

Henry spun around to glare at his brother. “Who?”

“Mom,” Jared rolled his eyes. “Sophie. Your fiancé. Is she-”

Henry slapped a hand over Jared’s mouth and dragged him away from the crowd. Evan and Connor hurried after them.

“Why would you say that?” Henry flicked Jared’s ear as soon as he let go of him.

Jared immediately reached up to flick him back, but Henry jumped out of the way.

“Because,” Jared yelped. He shook his head irritably. “Because why else would she be marrying you?”

Henry’s expression turned stony at that. He folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes at Jared. “That’s what you think?”

“Well... Duh,” Jared sputtered. “It’s the only thing that makes sense, isn’t it? I mean, you two may not be the sharpest tools in the shed, but even you have to know it would be a mistake to get married now.”

Evan inhaled sharply and shifted his weight from foot to foot. He was suddenly struck by the idea that he should grab Connor and leave, that they were intruding on a family matter, but he felt like he’d been frozen to the spot.

“She isn’t pregnant,” Henry said firmly. 

“You sure about that?”

“We haven’t...” Henry stared up at the sky. 

“Oh, you so have,” Jared smirked. “We’ve all seen the pictures. And Olivia saw you. You know you scarred Sophie’s sister for life.”

“That wasn’t...” Henry sighed. “We’ve done stuff and, okay, we’ve come close, but... Sophie’s waiting for marriage to... You know. Go all the way.”

Jared snorted and stared at him disbelievingly. “So, that’s why you’re marrying her?”

“I’m marrying her because I love her and she loves me and...” Henry let his breath out in a loud huff. “And life is short. She keeps saying that. Life is short. Things happen. So, why waste your time waiting?”

“This is because of Joey,” Evan blurted out. He stared at his feet when he realized what he’d said.

Henry and Jared were gone when he looked up again. He watched as Jared ran after his brother and made what appeared to be a frantic apology.

“You want to get out of here?” Connor offered.

“Yes, please,” Evan muttered.

 

They sat in Connor’s car until the game let out. They didn’t leave the parking lot. They hardly said a word, but it didn’t feel awkward. It was actually kind of a relief to not have to talk, especially since Evan felt like he’d been talking almost non-stop since his father’s family arrived.

Connor eventually pulled out his phone and they started watching videos. Music videos, cat videos, tree videos.

Evan squinted at Connor when he opened a video about a famous tree in Japan. He tried to tell if Connor was making fun of him, but he didn’t think he was.

He jumped when he heard someone knocking on his window a few minutes later. Connor paused the video before they turned around to see that Zoe was peering inside. 

“Hey,” Zoe said breathlessly when Evan opened the door. “You ready?”

Evan slid out so that she could get in. “I better go find my dad. I’ll see you later.”

He paused and nodded at Zoe. “Hey, uh, good job today. You sounded really good.”

“Thanks,” Zoe beamed.

Evan shook his head as he scanned the crowd for his dad. It was still weird sometimes to think how easy it was for him to do that, to compliment Zoe. It was weird to think how nervous he used to get when he’d try to think of ways to approach her, how he’d imagine and rehearse their conversations over and over again. Now, it was almost an afterthought. It basically was an afterthought. He’d nearly forgotten about her performance before the game.

He glanced over his shoulder to wave at Zoe and Connor and froze when he saw the way they froze. It wasn’t unusual for him to panic and think that people were talking about him, but he didn’t think he was wrong this time. He tried not to think about that. He tried to ignore the guilt on Zoe’s face, the... He didn’t know what emotion he was seeing on Connor’s face. He spun around and pushed his way through the crowd until he was sure they could no longer see him.

He spotted his dad walking down the hill with Mark and Kyle. He caught up with them and trailed behind as they wove their way through the parking lot.

“We’re going to stop at Pete’s on our way to your house,” Dan said.

Evan nodded reluctantly. “Okay...”

Dan grinned as he came to a stop. “We have to pick up your car.”

“My... what?” Evan blinked.

“Pete’s been trying to sell his old Honda Civic for ages, so I told him I’d take it off his hands.”

“You bought me a car?” Evan gasped.

Dan’s grin broadened as he shrugged his shoulders. “You need one, don’t you? And that’s the kind of thing dads are supposed to do. My dad bought me my first car. It was a total clunker.” Dan sighed wistfully. “Man, did I love that thing.”

“Wow, uh, thanks,” Evan sputtered.

He didn’t know what else to say. Thanks didn’t seem like a strong enough word, but his dad didn’t seem to mind. Evan nodded along as he said they’d have to call about insurance right away and take it to a mechanic to get it checked out and then they’d take it for a test drive. 

“It’s silver, so that should be good for you, right?”

Evan blinked again. “What do you mean?”

“Silver is nondescript. You can use it when your mom has you stalk people.”

Evan nodded slightly. They had barely talked about his job all weekend. He knew it was a sore subject for his dad. He knew his father didn’t approve of it.

“Yeah, I guess,” Evan said uncertainly.

“You’re being careful, right?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded automatically.

“Your mom... She isn’t making you do anything dangerous, is she?”

“No,” Evan shook his head adamantly.

“Let me know if she does. I’ll talk to her.”

Evan nodded vaguely. He had no intention of ever telling his dad if his mom asked him to do something dangerous. He was pretty sure that would be the start of World War III.

Evan climbed into the backseat with Kyle and buckled his seatbelt. He tilted his head when he sensed that Kyle was watching him.

“You used to go out with Zoe Murphy, didn’t you?” Kyle asked curiously.

“Yeah,” Evan replied.

Kyle glanced at him curiously. “Do you know if she’s seeing anyone now?”

Evan bit his lip as he considered that. He knew she wasn’t. He also knew that she wasn’t in the right state of mind to see anyone. That’s what she’d told him when they went to Homecoming together. That was one of the reasons she’d told her mom that Evan was taking her to the dance.

He quickly considered his options. He could tell Kyle the truth. He could say that Zoe had a boyfriend. A big, strong, tough college-aged boyfriend. He could say that she was gay.

He shrugged and looked out the window. “No idea.”

“Oh,” Kyle sighed. “She probably wouldn’t go for me anyway. I mean, if you’re her type...”

Evan didn’t bother responding to that.

 

His mother’s car was in the driveway when he pulled up. Evan’s heart skipped a beat when he saw that. He carefully parked his car next to hers and got out. He was suddenly very glad that he had dropped his dad off at Mark’s.

She stared at him when he came into the living room. “Did you steal a car? You know I can’t help you get the charges dropped anymore, don’t you?”

“I, uh...” Evan ran a hand through his hair as he plopped down next to her. “Dad bought it for me.”

“Dad? Your dad?”

“Yeah...”

“What did he find a site that lets you order cars online?”

“We got it from his friend Pete.”

Heidi stared at him a moment before reaching for her tea. “He’s here? Your dad’s here?”

“They got in yesterday... I told you that?”

Heidi shook her head numbly. “You did not.”

She frowned as she studied him. “They? Lisa and the kids are here too?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded. “We had dinner at Aloha yesterday.”

Evan took a breath and quickly continued, “He wanted me to fly out there when he heard I was alone, but I said no, so they came to me. It was a last-minute thing. Really last minute. I thought I told you. I meant to tell you...”

“He bought you a car,” Heidi laughed. “He really is determined to...”

Evan sat up straight and stared at her. “To what?”

“Nothing,” Heidi sighed. 

Evan fidgeted with his hoodie string and blinked at the wall.

“Henry Kleinman’s getting married,” he suddenly blurted out. “He asked me to be one of his groomsmen.”

“Did you say yes?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded.

“Okay,” Heidi said.

“Did you catch him?” Evan wondered.

“Who?”

“The bail jumper?”

Heidi stretched and yawned as she stood up. “The lead didn’t pan out.”

She gestured at the door. “I’m going to go take a shower. You want to watch Charlie Brown when I’m done?”

“Sure,” Evan agreed. 

He watched her go. He didn’t know why, but he was getting the feeling that there was something she wasn’t telling him. 

And he should know. It was a feeling he was getting used to having.


	19. Chapter 19

“You don’t know which House you’d be in?” Connor stared at him dubiously.

“I don’t know,” Evan said quickly. “I think I’d be a Hatstall. I like school, the learning part at least, and I like researching things that interest me, so Ravenclaw probably. But I could also see myself in Hufflepuff or Slytherin.”

“Not Gryffindor?”

“Definitely not,” Evan winced. “And then there’s the fact that you get sorted when you’re eleven. So, actually, I wouldn’t be a Hatstall. I’d be a Hufflepuff who helped raise the House GPA and was good at thinking on his feet.”

Connor nodded slightly. “Yeah, when I was eleven, I was a bookworm who would’ve been stuck in Ravenclaw.”

“And now?”

“Hatstall. Ravenclaw or Gryffindor.”

“Gryffindor?”

“Brash, daring, a tendency to act without worrying about the consequences...”

“Oh,” Evan muttered.

He stretched and sat up straight when he spotted a guy heading towards the gym.

“Still not him,” Evan sighed.

He rolled his shoulders and leaned back again. They’d been in the car for almost two hours and had yet to see any signs of their target. 

“Maybe he really did hurt his neck,” Evan said. “I’m going to ask my mom how much longer we have to wait here.”

Connor shrugged and idly tapped the camera in his lap. “It’s cool. Not like I have anything better to do.”

Evan typed out a quick text anyway. He didn’t feel like spending the whole day trapped in his car, especially if the guy wasn’t actually committing insurance fraud.

“So,” Connor said slowly. “Snape – good or evil?”

“The very definition of a morally gray character,” Evan said automatically. “Who do you think is worse – Voldemort or Umbridge?”

“Equally evil for different reasons. Which of the Deathly-”

Connor stopped speaking when he saw how Evan was staring at his phone. “What?”

“My mom says she’s not paying you for this,” Evan said quietly. “She says she told you that, that she only needed one of us for this.”

“I know,” Connor shrugged. He rolled his eyes when Evan didn’t look away. “You said you didn’t want to do this alone. You looked like you were going to pass out when you saw the guy’s picture.”

Evan breathed in quickly. That was probably true. He had felt dizzy when his mom had given him the job. The guy looked like he could bench press two Evans without breaking a sweat. 

And he had a record. A record that Evan really didn’t want to think about. 

“It’s a one-person job though,” Evan said. "You don’t need to-”

“It’s fine,” Connor muttered. “Like I said, it’s not like I have anything better to do.”

Evan squeezed the steering wheel and shifted in his seat. “Invisibility cloak, duh.”

“Duh,” Connor agreed.

 

“I don’t know the name of every tree in the world,” Evan snapped as Connor dangled his phone in front of him again.

Connor raised an eyebrow until Evan sighed and said, “White pine.”

Connor smirked and started typing again. “So, why trees?”

“I don’t know. I like them.”

“For no particular reason?”

Evan absentmindedly drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “My mom used to read _The Giving Tree_ to me when I was a kid and... I don’t know. It made me pay attention to them. It made me think about how they’re everywhere. They give us oxygen. They give us wood.”

He could feel his face heating up when he realized how he’d worded that, but Connor wasn’t Jared. He wasn’t laughing. On the outside, at least.

“We use them for so many things. We abuse them and cut them down and... They don’t give up. They don’t leave. They’re always there.” 

Connor glanced at him curiously. “You had a tree for a friend when you were growing up, didn’t you?”

“The one in my backyard, by the fence,” Evan nodded. “I used to go there whenever my parents would fight.”

Connor nodded knowingly. “I’d probably be in love with trees too if I’d done that.”

“I’m not in love with them...” Evan muttered. “We’re just good friends.”

“Okay,” Connor snorted. “If you say so...”

 

Evan bristled when his phone buzzed again. He didn’t have to look down to know there was another text from Jared waiting for him.

“You want me to reply this time?” Connor offered smugly.

Evan shook his head. “He’s freaking out about Henry’s bachelor party.”

Connor looked at him strangely. “Henry isn’t getting married for, like, seven months, right?”

“Yeah, but, knowing Henry, I wouldn’t be surprised if the bachelor party is half the reason he’s getting married at all.”

“Are you going to help Jared plan it?”

Evan stared at Connor like he’d gone mad. “I’m not even going to go, if I can get away with skipping it.”

Connor didn’t say anything for a minute. “How long have you known them?”

“Jared and Henry?”

Connor nodded.

“Since forever, basically. Our moms met in a birthing class. Jared’s always going on about how he’s been stuck with me his whole life.”

“He says that?”

“Yeah,” Evan shrugged. “He used to insist that we weren’t friends. It was this big thing with him. I was so, uh, so embarrassing to be around that he would make sure I knew that we were just family friends.”

“What changed?”

“Joey,” Evan smiled sadly. “I became friends with Joey and that changed things.”

“For the better?”

“I guess. Sort of. It’s different. It’s, uh...”

“Jury’s still out?”

“Jury’s still out.” 

 

At first glance, the guy walking towards the gym looked like their target. Evan sat up excitedly, only to deflate a moment later when he saw the man’s face.

Three hours. They’d been sitting there for three hours. 

“My mom says we can call it a day at seven,” Evan sighed. “She said he never hits the gym later than that.”

“Okay,” Connor nodded.

Seven was still two hours away.

“I’m going to get something from the store over there,” Evan decided. “You want anything?”

“What’re the rules about eating in your car?”

“Rules?” Evan frowned.

“I mean, are you okay with greasy foods and ice cream or-”

“Anything’s fine,” Evan said quickly. “The car’s already a mess.”

“It’s not that bad,” Connor assured him.

“Pete has four kids. I keep finding peanut butter in random places. Yesterday, I found a gummy bear melting in the glove compartment.”

“You said your dad got this for you?”

“Yeah.”

“What did he want in return?”

“Nothing,” Evan shrugged. “I mean...”

Evan bit his lip and leaned back. “This was just part of his latest random burst of parenting.”

Connor glanced at him quizzically. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, he does this sometimes. It’s like he suddenly remembers that I exist and he does something like...”

“Like buy you a car.”

“Yeah. He’s been doing this kind of thing a lot lately. Not the car thing. Just... He’s been taking an interest in my life ever since Joey... My mom says it’s because we were on the news, because everyone in his town’s bugging him about me.”

He tilted his head at Connor curiously. “Do your parents usually want something from you when they do something nice?”

“My parents always want something,” Connor shrugged.

Evan didn’t know what to make of that. He reached for the door handle. “So, where did we land on the food thing?”

“Slurpee?” Connor said hopefully.

“Sure,” Evan nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

 

Evan nearly dropped the food as he struggled to open the car door. He did drop it when he saw what Connor was holding.

The Slurpee splattered on the ground and leaked onto his left shoe. He didn’t notice though. His mouth opened and closed several times before he threw himself into the car.

“What’re you doing?” Evan gasped. He wanted to snatch the notebook away from Connor, but his mind was spinning and his hands were shaking and...

“Where did you get that?” Evan demanded.

Connor had the decency to look at least semi-ashamed. “Your backpack fell over when I reached to get-”

“It fell over?” Evan laughed sharply. “It just happened to fall over and-”

“Okay, fine,” Connor sighed. “I was bored. I wasn’t snooping though. I was going to flip through your science book until you got back.”

“It isn’t in there.”

“Well, I know that now.”

Evan stared straight ahead. He glanced at Connor just long enough to confirm that he wasn’t paging through the notebook. “Put it back.”

Connor carefully slipped it back into the bag and turned to squint at Evan. “You write letters to Joey?”

“Sometimes,” Evan muttered.

Connor opened his mouth like he wanted to say something but changed his mind.

“What?” Evan snapped.

“Therapy assignment?” Connor asked quietly.

Evan looked at him quickly. “Yeah.”

“I figured,” Connor nodded. “That’s the kind of shit Dr. Miller likes to make me do. He has me write things when he wants to check in, when he feels like I’m not talking enough during our sessions.”

“Does he make you write to Joey?”

“No,” Connor scoffed. “He has me write to myself. He has me write out what I’m thinking, how I’m feeling, the things he’s convinced I’m keeping from myself.”

Connor closed his eyes. “Sounds stupid, right?”

Evan shook his head. “No. Not at all.”

 

It was dark. Evan didn’t remember it getting dark. He didn’t remember seeing the sunset, which was weird because he liked watching the sunset. 

He yawned and stretched and put down his copy of _Wuthering Heights_. “I think I liked _Jane Eyre_ better.”

His stomach dropped when he saw Connor’s expression. “What?”

Connor smiled wryly. “I guess you don’t have a Zoe alert on your phone.”

“A Zoe...” Evan frowned. He shook his head when he got Connor’s meaning. “No, I don’t.”

Connor pulled his phone away, but Evan caught a glimpse of it anyway.

“Is that...” Evan’s face scrunched up as he tried to remember the actor’s name. “That’s that guy. The one from... The show... the, uh...”

“She’s at that premiere in New York,” Connor explained.

“Right,” Evan nodded.

He remembered hearing about that. Zoe’s label wanted her to start attending various events to help get her name out there, to establish her as something other than a murder victim’s singer sister.

“Does that bother you?”

“What? Seeing Zoe with what’s-his-name?”

Connor simply stared.

“Not really,” Evan shrugged. “If he had his tongue down her throat, maybe? I don’t know. It’d be weird.”

“That would be weird,” Connor agreed. “Especially since he’s gay.”

Evan snorted and looked at the phone again. “That’s right! He’s that guy, the one who was in that movie with the, uh...”

“You’re really good with names, aren’t you?”

“Shut up,” Evan laughed. His laughter cut short when Connor suddenly dropped his phone. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing...” Connor anxiously tugged at his hair. “It’s just... Zoe just asked if I want her to give him my number.”

“Oh,” Evan blinked. “Well, he is cute.”

“You think he’s cute?”

“You don’t?”

“I don’t know,” Connor muttered. “I... I mean, I’d never go out with him.”

“Well, yeah. I mean, he isn’t from around here. Realistically speaking, that would be kind of tough to do. You can text though. That might be fun.”

“Not my kind of fun.” Connor pushed back against the headrest. He glanced at Evan quickly and looked away. “Okay, so the thing is, I’m not sure I’m gay. I think I’m probably demi.”

Evan didn’t know what to say to that, so he simply nodded and said, “Oh.”

“I told my parents I was gay because...” Connor laughed mirthlessly. “It’s stupid, but I was sick of disappointing them. I was sick of them looking at me and seeing a loser with no friends. I was sick of my mother constantly telling me how I wasn’t the only one who... I’m not some fucking late bloomer. I’m just... I don’t know. So, I told them I’m gay and they backed the hell off.”

“That worked?”

“Yeah,” Connor shrugged. “My mom’s so scared of offending me that she doesn’t say a word about my love life now and she makes sure my dad does the same.”

“But you don’t think you’re actually gay? Won’t that confuse them if you...”

“Bring a girl home with me? They’ll be thrilled. Though, honestly, I think they’d be equally thrilled if I brought home a boyfriend. It would make them think that I’m normal now, that I found someone who can stand to be around me.” 

“Normal is highly overrated,” Evan said.

“That’s what I’ve always said,” Connor smiled. He gestured at the clock. “It’s seven.”

“Okay,” Evan sighed. “I guess we can officially declare the guy a no show.”

“Maybe he really is injured.”

“Maybe.” Evan rolled his shoulders before leaning forward to start the engine. “You want me to take you home?”

Connor didn’t say anything for a moment. Evan glanced at him curiously. “What?”

“My mom went to New York with Zoe.”

“So?”

“So, my dad stayed here. He said something about having friends over to watch a game tonight.”

“Oh,” Evan nodded. “So, uh... You want to go to the movies? We can bug Jared until he sneaks us into a screening so he can get rid of us.”

“You think we can score some of that stale popcorn he’s always going on about?”

“I think we can swing that,” Evan grinned.


	20. Chapter 20

“You have fans.”

Evan spun around in his chair to face Jared. “I have fans?”

“Yeah,” Jared groaned. “Half the comments here are about how Zoe should bring the old guy back. You’re the old guy.”

“Ignore them,” Evan sighed. “You shouldn’t be looking at those.”

“You didn’t look at them? You’re honestly telling me you didn’t read the comments whenever you posted a Zoe and Joey video?”

“I tried not to. And when I did, I, uh, I tried not to take the negative ones personally.”

Jared’s face lit up at that. “You got negative ones too?”

“Yeah, of course,” Evan mumbled. “Look, you did something different. _Heartbeat_ is a more artistic video than-”

“It was too weird, wasn’t it?”

Evan stared at his hands. “It was a little, uh... A little weird, but-”

“I should’ve put in a cartoon of you humping a tree. At least then people would be laughing.”

“Half of them would be laughing. The other half would be offended and threatening to turn you over to the authorities.”

“There are tree authorities? Does PETA deal with plants too?”

“No. I don’t know. They’d go to the, uh... The EPA or The Nature Conservancy, maybe?”

Jared wrinkled his nose. “I better be careful then. You tree people can be vicious.”

Evan shook his head and spun around when he heard the door open behind him. He pulled himself up, only to slump back down when he saw that it was just Connor.

Make that Connor and his aunt. Evan tilted his head when he saw that.

Connor marched right up to Evan’s desk and held out his phone. “Do you have a program on there that recognizes faces?”

“No... Why?”

“This guy is stalking Jamie,” Connor said frantically.

“He isn’t stalking me,” Jamie said quickly. 

“You said someone’s been following you,” Connor reminded her.

“I said I felt like someone has been following me. This was the first time I actually saw-”

“That guy is following her,” Connor cut in. “I snapped a picture of him when we left the library.”

Evan’s back stiffened when he looked at the phone.

“You know him?” Connor asked.

Evan knocked on the door to his mother’s office. He grabbed Connor’s phone and showed it to her when she poked her head out. “Isn’t that...”

Evan couldn’t remember the guy’s name. He knew the face though. One look at his mother confirmed that she knew it too.

“Geoff Heffelfinger,” Heidi replied. 

Jared jumped up to see. “Hey, he’s that guy! The lightbulb guy!”

Jared rolled his eyes when everyone stared at him. “The guy who has the billboard on Third Street. You know, _We can shed light on any crime._ ”

Evan nodded slowly. “He’s a private detective.”

Jamie blinked at the others. “So, why would he be following me?”

“I’ll ask him,” Heidi offered. She pulled her phone out and started scrolling through it.

“Oh, uh, you don’t have to-” Jamie started uncertainly.

“It’s fine,” Heidi shrugged. “We’re constantly trading favors. He’s one of the few honest PIs in this town.”

Heidi leaned against the wall and nodded to herself. “Geoff, hi, question. I’m here with...” Her head jerked up as she turned to face Jamie.

“Jamie Cooper.”

“Jamie Cooper,” Heidi continued. “And...” Heidi smiled grimly. “Yes, that was one of my employees you saw with her. Connor is her...”

“Nephew,” Connor filled in.

“Nephew... Okay... Really? That’s... No, I’ll tell her... No, this doesn’t mean we’re even. You still owe me for the Vincent case... No, I...”

Heidi suddenly dropped her head and her voice. Evan leaned forward to hear.

“I haven’t heard back from them yet. I’ll let you know as soon as I do.”

Evan pushed himself back as soon as she hung up. Her mouth formed a thin line when she saw the way he was sitting.

“You haven’t heard back from who?” Evan demanded.

“No one,” Heidi said shortly. 

Evan knew he should drop it. He knew what that look meant. He couldn’t bring himself to care though.

He leaned forward and hissed, “Are you working on a case with him?”

Heidi ignored his question and nodded at Jamie. “He was hired to do a background check on you.”

“A background check?” Jamie laughed. “Why? Who? I don’t...”

“He was hired by an Elizabeth Benson.”

Jamie chuckled disbelievingly. “Will’s sister.”

“Will?” Evan asked.

“My boyfriend,” Jamie said softly. “His sister and I... We don’t exactly see eye to eye.”

“She’s a real...” Jared’s ears turned red when Heidi and Jamie raised their eyebrows at him. “She’s one of the reps from Zoe’s label. You met her at the premiere of Zoe’s Joey tribute.”

“Oh, right,” Evan nodded uncertainly. His forehead furrowed as he tried to remember. He had a vague memory of two people in suits hovering around Zoe that day. A man and a woman. A scary-looking woman. 

And a man who Zoe said was practically engaged to her aunt.

“I’ve known Will since college,” Jamie explained. “I met him when I did a semester in London.”

Jamie shook her head dazedly. “I don’t know see why Elizabeth would want to do this though. It’s weird, isn’t it?”

“Geoff said he’s stopping surveillance,” Heidi informed her. “He’s doing it as a courtesy because of Connor.”

Connor seemed surprised by that, but he didn’t respond.

“That’s also why you saw him today. He recognized Connor, so he allowed himself to be seen.”

Jamie grinned and punched Connor’s arm lightly. “Look at you. You’re really making a name for yourself, huh?”

“That doesn’t mean this is over,” Heidi cautioned. “Geoff may be dropping the case, but that doesn’t mean Elizabeth won’t go to another detective.”

“I figured,” Jamie sighed. “I’ll talk to her. And to Will. He’ll probably have better luck getting through to her than I will.”

Jamie blinked when her eyes landed on the clock above Evan. “Is that clock right?” 

She didn’t bother waiting for an answer. She shook her head again. “Speaking of, I’m going to be late meeting Will. We’re having dinner at the Ivy Bistro.”

She glanced at Connor anxiously. “Are you sure you don’t want to come?”

“Positive,” Connor said quickly.

“I can drop you off on my way if you-”

“Go,” Connor laughed. “I’ll be fine.”

Jamie nodded frantically and practically ran for the door.

Connor waited until she was out of sight before leaning down to talk to Evan.

“Will’s going to propose tonight, isn’t he?”

Evan nodded automatically. He didn’t know the whole story, but even he’d gathered that much. 

“And his sister’s hoping to find something she can use to stop it from happening?”

“That would be my guess,” Evan agreed.

“Good thing there’s nothing for her to find then,” Connor said. 

“It’s a good thing Elizabeth went with Geoff,” Heidi said. “Some of the other local detectives would have stretched the truth in order to get her to keep paying.”

Evan frowned at his mother. He hadn’t realized she knew Geoff that well. He hadn’t realized they were close.

Were they close? He tried to read her expression, but she looked away when she caught him watching her.

He didn’t think he was imagining the relief spreading across her face when she ducked back into her office to answer her phone.

 

The street was so crowded that they had to park at the end of the block.

Evan didn’t mind though. It gave him a minute to collect his thoughts, to look around and figure out which guests he recognized and why.

Unfortunately, it also gave Jared an extra minute to criticize his driving.

“You do know what stop signs are for, don’t you?”

“I stopped,” Evan snapped defensively.

“Okay, you technically stopped, but-”

“You could’ve driven yourself,” Evan reminded him.

“And shown up at the Murphys’ holiday party alone? Are you kidding?” Jared stopped walking and grabbed Evan’s arm. “Should we synchronize our watches?”

Evan glanced down at his arm. “I have 5:07.”

“Me too,” Jared nodded. “Okay. So, we don’t have to stay later than seven, do we?”

“I don’t know,” Evan shrugged.

“You don’t know? Didn’t you go to this last year?”

“Yeah, but...”

“But what?”

Evan shook his head slightly. “Let’s just play it by ear. We’ll duck out of there the first chance we get.”

“Okay,” Jared sighed. He narrowed his eyes at Evan. “I really should’ve driven myself, shouldn’t I?”

 

The truth of it was that Evan really didn’t want to be at the party any more than Jared did. It had been fine the year before because he’d spent the whole night hanging out with Joey and Zoe. He’d laughed as Joey told him stories about every relative they encountered. 

And Zoe... He’d spent half the night feeling sick and dizzy and kind of hopeful every time she got near a sprig of mistletoe. He’d eventually given up trying to track her movements. He’d eventually realized how obvious he was being. Joey had coughed and snorted in a way that made that clear.

And then she’d kissed him. 

He hadn’t planned it. He hadn’t even realized he was standing under the mistletoe. It had just happened.

Their first kiss. His first kiss.

It had been extremely awkward and kind of terrible and kind of perfect.

They’d officially started going out a week later.

So, yeah, the party had been fine last year.

Evan really wasn’t expecting to feel that way about it this time around.

 

He wasn’t even sure why he’d been invited. He definitely hadn’t been expecting an invitation. 

But, lo and behold, one had shown up in the mail

Because the Murphys were the type of people who still mailed party invitations to everyone, including their kids’ friends.

Part of Evan had wondered if they’d simply copied their guest list from last year and failed to notice that he was on it.

Except that didn’t explain how Jared had gotten an invitation. 

He knew that Jared had been invited because of Zoe. Because they were actually friends now. According to Jared, at least. 

He doubted that Zoe had asked her parents to include him though. His invitation had most likely come from Connor.

He hadn’t said anything about it to Connor. He hadn’t said anything because he hadn’t planned to go. He figured he’d decline and say he had to work that night. He knew his mother would have backed him up if Connor had asked.

It almost felt like a betrayal for him to go without her. She’d been invited the year before. 

Her name had definitely not been on the envelope this time though.

Evan would’ve skipped the party if Jared hadn’t guilted him into going.

Conned him into going was more like it. He still wasn’t entirely sure how Jared had managed to convince him to attend.

 

The house was packed with guests. Evan almost lost Jared within seconds of stepping through the door. He looked around frantically and let out a groan when Jared suddenly crashed into him.

“Would it be weird if we link arms?” Jared asked. He cringed and looked away. “Did I just say that out loud?”

Evan wanted to laugh, but he knew where Jared was coming from. He really didn’t want to get separated either. He glanced around and tried to find a safe place for them to go.

He was about to suggest they go sit on the piano bench when he heard someone calling their names.

“Hey!” Kelsey cried as she wove through the crowd towards them. “Zoe told me to keep an eye out for you guys. We’re all hanging out downstairs.”

Evan nodded gratefully as Kelsey darted away from them and into the dining room.

“Do you know where the basement is?” Jared wondered. 

Evan gestured at the dining room. “Do you want to get some food first?”

He knew Jared was truly overwhelmed by the crowd when he said no.

He also knew that meant something was bothering Jared.

“What’s wrong?” Evan asked.

“She’s trying to steal my job,” Jared hissed.

Evan glanced around uncertainly. “Who?”

“Kelsey!”

“Kelsey wants to work at the movie theater?”

“Not that job,” Jared rolled his eyes. “The producer job. She keeps telling Zoe about all these ideas she has and how she could help me improve my videos.”

“Oh,” Evan muttered. “I-”

“You have to help me,” Jared yelped. “You owe me.”

“I owe you? For what?”

“For being an asshole last year. For shutting me out and treating me like dirt and...” Jared sucked in a breath when he caught Evan’s eye. “Can you talk to Zoe?”

“I can try. I don’t know if she’ll listen though. Kelsey’s her cousin and they’re really close. If she wants Kelsey to work on her videos, then...”

Jared squeezed his eyes shut. “And you’re her ex-boyfriend. Why would she listen to her ex-boyfriend?”

“And that,” Evan agreed.

Jared didn’t say anything else until they got to the basement. He looked at Evan shrewdly and hurried over to claim a seat next to Zoe. Evan shook his head when Jared instantly launched into a pitch for a New Year’s video he thought they should make.

“What’s that about?” Connor wondered.

“Jared’s afraid that Kelsey is out to steal his job.”

“Oh,” Connor nodded. “She probably is.”

“You think she is?”

“Yeah,” Connor smirked. “She was pissed that Zoe didn’t ask her first. She wanted to do it last year, but...”

“But what?”

“I don’t know,” Connor shrugged. “They decided to go with you instead.”

Evan frowned as he tried to wrap his mind around that. He’d always assumed that the twins had chosen him because they hadn’t had any other options. Why else would they pick him after all? If Kelsey had wanted to do it, then he really couldn’t understand why she hadn’t landed the gig.

“Why did they do that?” Evan sputtered. “They didn’t know me. Joey had no clue who I was when I showed up. I think he kind of recognized me, but he didn’t... It doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t know,” Connor said again. “I don’t know how my brother’s brain worked. I barely know how my brain works.”

“Zoe said they picked you because Connor told Joey to.”

Evan spun around to see Kelsey standing behind them, smirking and waving a plate of food in the air.

“Was that supposed to be a secret?” Kelsey gasped.

Evan looked from Kelsey to Connor and back again. “You told Joey to pick me?”

“I told him anyone was better than Kelsey,” Connor said irritably. “I told him he’d go crazy if he had to deal with her all the time.”

“That’s not what Zoe said,” Kelsey grinned. “She said-”

“Are you trying to steal Jared’s job?” Connor interrupted.

Kelsey laughed and shook her head in Jared’s direction. “No. He’s being paranoid. I tried to offer him a few tips and he...” She sighed and stared at the ceiling. “I don’t want that job now. I have enough things keeping me busy without taking on something else.”

With that said, Kelsey bopped Connor on the nose and flounced across the room to sit across from Zoe.

“She would’ve driven Joey insane,” Connor whispered. He squinted at Kelsey uncertainly. “Wouldn’t she?”

“Oh, yeah,” Evan nodded. He glanced at Connor curiously. “Did you, uh...”

“Did I what?”

Connor’s expression was so resigned that a part of Evan didn’t want to finish his question.

“Did you even know who I was last year?”

“Yeah,” Connor shrugged. “I mean, kind of. I’ve always made it a point to categorize people and, you know, know who the threats are.”

Evan did a double take at that. “You thought I was a threat?”

“I thought you were an outsider.”

Like him. He didn’t say the words, but Evan could tell they were implied.

Connor grinned wryly. “Come on. You can’t honestly tell me you had no idea who I was, can you?”

“No, I knew who you were. Everyone knows who you are.”

“It sucks doesn’t it?” Connor said quietly. “Having people who don’t know you think they know everything about you?”

Evan nodded swiftly. “Yeah, it does...”

 

Zoe cleared her throat and stared at her hands. “Thanks. That’s really, uh...”

“I mean it,” the woman beamed. “I’m so glad you aren’t going the whore route. It’s like I told Ken, we finally have a sensible role model for our girls. Though, have you ever considered singing about something like, oh, I don’t know, staying in school or listening to your parents or not doing drugs?”

“I’ll think about it,” Zoe promised brightly.

Zoe’s smile didn’t waver until the woman was gone. “Okay, that’s it. I don’t care what Mom says. We’re locking that door.”

Kelsey shook her head and pointed at her phone. “We have to be upstairs in a couple minutes.”

“Oh, yeah,” Zoe sighed. “I swear if one more person comes down here to offer me advice...”

She turned around to catch Jared’s eye. “The next video is going to have swear words and suggestive dancing and-”

“Nudity?” Jared grinned.

“Are you volunteering?” Zoe laughed. 

Jared’s grin immediately disappeared.

Zoe glared at the stairs as the basement door creaked open again. Her frown deepened when she saw who it was. 

Kelsey leapt off the couch and cut her brother off before he could enter the basement. “What’re you doing here?”

“Aunt Cynthia sent me to-”

“Okay,” Kelsey nodded quickly. “That doesn’t require you to go downstairs. You could’ve shouted at us or texted me or-”

“That wouldn’t have been polite. I-”

“Leave him alone,” Kelsey hissed.

Josh blinked at her. “Who?”

“You know who,” Kelsey snapped. “Come on.”

There was a scuffle on the stairs as Kelsey tried to block her brother’s path. She almost tumbled backwards when he pushed her to the side.

“Josh!” Kelsey cried. 

The door creaked open again. Kelsey elbowed Josh until he turned to look.

“Dad,” Josh said breathlessly. “I was just-”

“Get up here now!” Kevin ordered. “We talked about this.”

“I know, but-”

“Now, Josh!”

Josh lowered his head and immediately ran for the door. Kelsey slumped back against the wall as it slammed shut behind them.

“Okay,” Kelsey said shakily. “Who wants to go watch the waiters dance?”

 

The waiters weren’t using real hot chocolate. 

They weren’t using anything at all. Their cups were all empty and probably made of plastic.

That didn’t ruin the overall effect of the performance though. It was lively and catchy and a perfect distraction.

Joey would’ve loved it. _The Polar Express_ had been his favorite Christmas movie. 

Evan suspected that was why the Murphys had arranged for this to happen. 

He stood off to the side with Jared and watched the waiters dance around the house. Connor and Zoe went to stand with their parents in the dining room while Kelsey joined hers by the fireplace. 

Evan looked away when he saw Zoe squeeze her mother’s hand. He didn’t want to think about that. He didn’t want to think about the comments Joey would’ve made if he’d been there. He didn’t want to think about anything other than the song.

He wondered if these were the same waiters who had been serving them all night. He tried to figure out if they were but found it impossible to tell. He wondered if they were some kind of theater group or dance group or juggling group. Were there juggling groups out there? He wondered if the song was permanently stuck in their heads. He wondered if it would ever get out of his head. He wondered if...

It took him a second to realize that someone was screaming.

The music was so loud and the dancing was so dizzying that it took him a second to realize that Kelsey was screaming bloody murder.

He rushed forward to see what was happening.

He wasn’t the only one. There was a stampede as the dancers stopped moving and the guests surged towards the living room.

He heard someone shouting they had to call 911. He heard someone else shouting for a doctor. He saw two guests raise their hands and push their way forward.

He stood up on his tiptoes to see. He felt sick when he saw that Kelsey was on the floor with her mother and Josh.

There was blood all around them. 

Josh was holding onto his father while people gathered cloths and passed them forward.

Two men were holding a shaking waitress who was wailing and trying to break free.

Her hands were covered in blood and there was a knife by her feet.

Evan put a hand to his mouth as he tried to catch his breath, as he tried to process what had happened.

A waitress had stabbed Kevin Murphy. A waitress had tried to kill Kevin Murphy.

Kevin Murphy was dead or injured or...

He didn’t know. He didn’t know what was happening.

Only one thing was for certain.

The Murphys’ holiday party definitely wasn’t going to leave him with any warm, fuzzy feelings that year.


	21. Chapter 21

If Evan had thought the news coverage about Joey’s death had been relentless, that was nothing compared to what happened after Kevin Murphy was stabbed.

The story exploded. Within an hour of the stabbing, it was everywhere. By the time Evan got home, there were already videos and images of it online.

Because, of course, the majority of the Murphys’ guests had been recording the dancing waiters. And apparently several of them didn’t see anything wrong with sharing their clips with the world.

Evan wondered how long it would take the authorities to try to shut that down. He wondered if they’d manage to do it. The videos were being shared so rapidly that he couldn’t imagine anyone getting the situation under control.

Evan wasn’t surprised that his mother was waiting for him by the front door.

The look on her face when she studied him made him wonder if she knew that he wasn’t the one who’d been stabbed.

“I’m fine,” Evan said swiftly. “Really. I wasn’t anywhere near him when it happened.”

“Did the police interview you?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded. “We all had to be interviewed before we could leave. Deputy Brooks talked to me. He said to tell you hi.”

Heidi smiled tightly. “He’s going to be okay. Kevin Murphy. There was an update a minute ago. She missed all of his vital organs.”

“That’s good,” Evan sighed. “I was wondering. There was a lot of blood and...”

He shuddered at the memory. “Have they said anything about who she is? I don’t think anyone at the party recognized her.”

“They haven’t even released her name yet,” Heidi said. “It’ll probably be a few days before we hear anything else.”

 

They didn’t hear anything else until it was time for Evan to go back to school. That didn’t stop the reporters from descending on their town again though. It didn’t stop them from publishing dozens of stories about the stabbing.

Evan wasn’t surprised by the public’s interest in the story. Kevin Murphy was famous after all. His stabbing was the kind of thing journalists loved to write about.

A famous CEO had been non-fatally stabbed during the middle of a Christmas party at his brother’s house. Evan had a feeling it would take weeks for this story to work its way out of the news cycle.

He made sure to stay away from the press. He would’ve done that even if his mother hadn’t told him to avoid them.

He knew no good could come from that. 

The son of the sheriff who had targeted Kevin’s brother’s family after Joey’s death had been at the party? Evan knew that would provide a whole new angle for some of the sleazier reporters out there.

 

Luckily, the rest of Evan’s winter break was uneventful, probably because he was able to stay home for most of it.

Part of him wondered if his mother had planned it that way to keep him from encountering any reporters. He didn’t care though. He was happy to stay in and veg out and put off doing his homework for as long as possible.

 

On New Year’s Eve, he went to Jared’s house and watched Jared and Henry play video games all night.

They didn’t ask him if he wanted to play. Possibly because they knew the answer would be no, probably because they were way too involved with their battle to care.

Apparently, they’d decided that the loser had to do all of the winner’s chores for a week.

There were moments he wasn’t sure they were even aware of the fact that he was in the room with them.

Which was fine because it gave Evan a chance to proofread the essays he’d finally gotten around to writing. When he finished that, he started reading ahead and studying for the tests that he knew were coming up soon.

All in all, it was a productive night.

And Jared ended up winning, which was definitely a good thing because it meant that Evan wouldn’t have to listen to him moan and groan all week.

 

His phone buzzed a couple minutes past midnight.

Evan grabbed it and blinked when he saw that it was a text from Connor.

_Happy New Year._

That was all it said. 

_Happy New Year._

Evan supposed that was something at least. He hadn’t heard from Connor since the party. He didn’t know if he’d expected to hear from him.

Connor had called his mom to tell her that he couldn’t work that week. Evan had been surprised when she told him that. He hadn’t been surprised that Connor wasn’t coming in. He’d figured that all of the Murphys were going to lie low for a bit.

He’d been surprised that Connor had called his mom. That he’d called, not texted. That he’d called her and not him.

Evan tried not to be bothered by that.

He rolled his eyes as Jared jumped off the couch and started yet another victory dance.

He put his head down when Henry jumped up too and tried to make him join them.

He kept his eyes glued to his phone until he finally wrote back, _Happy New Year._

 

Everyone at school was talking about Kevin Murphy when they went back.

Partially because the police had finally released a statement regarding his attacker.

Mostly because the stabbing had taken place when school was not in session and this was the first chance everyone had to talk about it.

Jared loved the fact that people were still interested in the story.

Evan could see that right away.

Thanks to Henry, Sophie Ventura knew that Jared had been at the Murphys’ party and she made sure that the rest of the student body knew that too.

It didn’t take Jared long to establish himself as an expert on the stabbing. Every time Evan saw him, he was surrounded by people asking questions and hanging onto his every word.

Evan wasn’t surprised by that. He wasn’t surprised that Jared was milking this for all it was worth.

He was just glad that Jared wasn’t trying to drag him along for the ride. Though, that really wasn’t a surprise either. Jared wasn’t one to share the limelight.

He was surprised when he saw that Alana was acting like Jared. 

That was an exaggeration. Alana wasn’t nearly as bad as Jared.

She was making it known that she had a connection to Kevin Murphy’s attacker though.

The waitress, Maddie Fleet, had worked at Alana’s uncle’s diner. Maddie was good friends with Alana’s sister Alicia.

Evan shook his head when he heard Alana telling a group of people how Maddie used to come to her house all the time for dinner.

“Used to?” Sophie asked eagerly. “Did something happen?”

“I can’t talk about that,” Alana said firmly. The spark in her eye suggested that she was dying to tell though. “I’ll just say this. Alicia’s going to be a witness for the prosecution.”

Evan didn’t wait around to see if Alana cracked and told everyone what she knew.

He didn’t think she would.

Not that it really mattered, of course. The news outlets were already speculating about why Maddie had stabbed Kevin and several of them had come up with sources that sounded at least half-reliable.

There were reports flooding in that Kevin had been having an affair with Maddie. That she had quit her job because she thought that he was going to leave his wife and run off with her. That she’d been devastated when he ended things instead.

The fact that no one from Kevin’s camp had issued a statement denying the reports was telling.

Kevin Murphy was known for being a family man. A dependable, wholesome family man. His handlers should have been all over this. The fact that they weren’t said a lot.

 

Evan would have felt bad for Kelsey even if he hadn’t known her.

He could tell that she was having a hard time. She looked like she was in a daze when she passed him in the hallway. 

She also looked like she hadn’t showered in a while. 

She paused long enough to blink at a pair of boys who were loudly discussing her father’s attack. She blinked until Connor suddenly popped up behind her and told them to fuck off.

Kelsey then turned to blink at him before hurrying down the hall to her next class.

Connor smiled slightly when he caught Evan watching. “So, how was your break?”

“Better than yours, I’m guessing,” Evan said. “How’s your uncle?”

“He’ll live.”

“Good,” Evan sighed. “That’s good.”

“Yeah,” Connor agreed. He glanced at him curiously. “I haven’t heard your version of the story yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’ve heard at least four versions of Jared’s, each one more exciting than the last. I haven’t heard any of yours though.”

“That’s because I’m not telling people I was there,” Evan replied. “And it’s none of their business anyway.”

He meant that. It was none of their business. And after everything with his mother, he wasn’t about to help spread stories.

Part of him couldn’t blame Jared and Alana though. Before Joey, before everything that happened since Joey’s death, he would’ve relished the attention. 

Maybe not relished. He would’ve liked it though. He would’ve liked knowing that people knew who he was, even if it was for something that didn’t actually involve him at all.

“So, are you ready for your English presentation?” Connor wondered.

Evan narrowed his eyes. “Are you kidding? I’m never ready for those things. I’ll be lucky if I get through it without passing out.”

“You’re telling me you can stalk a stripper-”

“Entertainer,” Evan corrected. “Don’t call her a stripper.”

“Entertainer,” Connor said mockingly. “You can-”

“That’s totally different,” Evan said shrilly. “I’m not good at speaking in front of a crowd.”

Evan shook his head. “Can we not talk about this? It’s better if I don’t think about it.”

“Okay,” Connor shrugged. “Oh, can you tell your mom I can’t come back to work until Thursday?”

“Sure,” Evan nodded. He glanced at Connor anxiously. “You are coming back though, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Connor said quickly. “I’m coming back.”

 

Evan was glad to hear that Connor would be back to work soon. Partially because he missed having a friend in the office. Mostly because his mother’s caseload was getting heavier and it was getting harder for him to help her and keep up with his schoolwork.

Not that he told her that though. He knew she’d cut his hours if she thought he was having trouble.

It just meant that he had to multitask at work. Spend five minutes looking at someone’s record, spend five minutes doing his Calculus homework. That kind of thing.

He was in the middle of a particularly tricky math problem when he heard the door open. He glanced up and swallowed anxiously when he saw who it was.

Connor’s aunt was standing in the doorway. Not the one he was familiar with. Not Jamie.

Nadine Murphy, Kevin Murphy’s wife, was standing there and scanning the room like she thought it contained some kind of nasty virus.

She didn’t bother looking at Evan. She lifted a hand and carefully picked at her nails. “Is your mother in?”

Evan rolled away from his desk and called, “Mom! We have a walk-in.”

Heidi poked her head out and did a double take. “Can we help you?”

“I need to hire a detective,” Nadine said.

“Okay,” Heidi said slowly. “For what?”

“I need evidence about my husband’s affairs,” Nadine replied. “And I need it fast. My lawyer wants to get this rolling as soon as possible.”

Heidi closed her eyes and leaned against the doorframe. “I’m afraid I can’t help you. My caseload’s full.”

“Then drop something,” Nadine snapped. “I can assure you that I can pay you more than all of your current clients combined.”

Heidi smiled grimly. “The answer’s still no. If you’re looking for a referral, I’d suggest going to Geoff Heffelfinger. I can write down his address if you’d like.”

“That’s quite all right,” Nadine said primly. “I’m sorry to have wasted your time.”

Evan jumped as the door slammed behind her.

He immediately spun around to face his mother. “Why-”

“Because-” Heidi cut in softly. “Because it would look like I’m trying to lead a witch hunt against the Murphys. Kevin Murphy can afford the best lawyers money can buy. They would get anything I find buried and dismissed so fast your head would spin.”

Heidi breathed in sharply. “And, besides, it’s really for the best if I stay away from that family.”

“But Connor-” Evan began.

“Connor is the exception, not the rule.”

Evan studied her expression. “Do you still think there’s a chance that Connor killed Joey?”

“No,” Heidi said firmly.

She said it so firmly that Evan couldn’t help blinking. “You don’t?”

“I have some calls to make,” Heidi replied. She eyed the textbook in his lap. “Make sure you finish your homework before you start on the Reilly case.”

“I can-”

“Homework first,” Heidi insisted. She gave him her best all-seeing, all-knowing stare before shutting the door to her office.

Evan picked up his pencil and tried to figure out where he’d stopped. It was hard to tell though and it was even harder for him to concentrate.

He knew he should be happy that his mother no longer suspected Connor, but he couldn’t help wondering what had made her change her mind. 

He wondered what evidence she’d uncovered about the case. He wondered if she’d ever fill him in. 

He wondered if he’d end up finding out who really killed Joey from an article online.


	22. Chapter 22

The thing of it was that his mother had never hidden things from him.

Okay, that wasn’t totally true. He knew she’d tried to shield him from some of the more unpleasant parts of her job, especially when he was younger.

She had never flat-out refused to share something with him though. She’d even answered his questions about the Shoelace Killer when he was twelve.

Though, in all honesty, that may have been because the things his imagination had come up with had been way worse than what was actually happening.

He knew why she was being secretive about Joey’s case. He knew she thought she was protecting him, that she was keeping him from falling apart again.

He knew he’d been a mess after Joey died. 

It had been a shock. People his age weren’t supposed to die. That wasn’t the natural order of things.

And when they did, it wasn’t because someone had bashed their head in. It was because they’d been in a car accident. Or they’d overdosed. Or they had cancer.

Or they’d committed suicide.

If Evan had died young, that would’ve been the cause.

He didn’t like to think about that, but he knew it was true. It wasn’t something that he dwelled on. It wasn’t something that he’d ever tried or even seriously considered, but it was there, floating around in the back of his head.

Before Joey, it had occurred to him that he could disappear and no one would notice. No one at school, at least. Definitely no one at school.

Before Joey, he hadn’t had any friends. Any real friends. He wouldn’t have counted Jared back then.

Before Joey died, he hardly ever saw his mother. It had felt that way to him at least. She’d worked insane hours when she’d been the sheriff. He’d almost always come home to an empty house and an empty fridge. 

Things were different now.

His mother was definitely around more. And working for her basically guaranteed that he had to spend time with her every day.

And he knew that he had friends. He had people who cared about him and would genuinely be upset if he was gone. 

He still missed Joey though. He still missed him even though Joey had been dead longer than they’d been friends.

He still found himself thinking about things that he would’ve told Joey if he’d been there. He still thought about what Joey would say, how he’d react, to whatever he was seeing.

He knew that was why Dr. Sherman made him write letters to Joey. Sometimes it helped, sometimes it made him mad. Sometimes it felt so completely ridiculous that he questioned whether Dr. Sherman knew what he was doing.

Sometimes he thought about how Joey would’ve written back to him if he’d been alive. He wouldn’t have laughed at him or acted like he was crazy. He simply would’ve shrugged and looked at him like ‘okay, cool, so we’re doing this now.’

Which was part of the problem. One of the reasons he’d had a hard time accepting Joey’s death was that it was hard to imagine someone choosing to kill him.

He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea that someone who had known Joey had intentionally taken his life. And he really couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea that Joey had been involved in something that had led to his death.

 

Which was why he was dying to know what his mother had discovered.

He tried to explain that to her. He felt like she got it, but she still wouldn’t share.

She said it was because nothing was definite and she didn’t want to confuse him or make things worse by telling him something that may not be true.

She said she just had a few hunches and nothing to back them up. 

She was keeping her findings in the bottom drawer of her safe.

Her second safe, the one that he didn’t have access to. He knew she regretted letting him see that.

She allowed him to use her log-ins for all of the websites and databases she used. He had a key to her main safe, the one with all their case files in it. 

Her second safe had a combination lock on it. Evan knew his mother well enough to know that she would’ve chosen random, meaningless numbers.

So, he did the only thing he could think to do. He planted a camera in her office and monitored it until she accessed the safe.

He’d thought that he was being clever, that there was no way she knew what he was up to.

Then, he put in the combination and everything went red.

Literally. 

Something inside the safe exploded and covered him in red paint.

His mother was waiting for him when he came out of the bathroom. She was leaning against the wall and twirling the camera around in her hand. 

“Hey, sweetie,” Heidi beamed. “What’ve you been up to tonight?”

“Not funny,” Evan sputtered.

“What was that? I’m sorry, Mom. I’m sorry for invading your privacy and-” She stopped speaking and sighed when she saw his expression. “This is an active case, Evan.”

“It’s-”

“I’m not the only person who thinks the wrong person is in jail. Let’s just leave it at that.”

“I won’t tell anyone. I-”

“You’ll know what’s happening as soon as there’s something worth knowing. I promise.”

Evan reluctantly nodded. He wanted to argue, but he knew there was no point. 

He also knew that she’d keep her word. He’d know when there was something worth knowing.

 

Evan had never believed in the idea of true love. Watching his father run off with Lisa when he was a kid had pretty much cemented that for him.

Working for his mother had only made the notion grow stronger.

It was amazing how many people cheated on their spouses. He supposed there was a chance his perception of that was slightly skewed.

Cheating spouses were basically the bread and butter of a detective agency after all.

He’d yet to work on a case that ended with the person suspected of cheating being innocent.

Which was why he bet Connor ten dollars that Artie McGregor was cheating on his wife.

He was certain that was the case. It didn’t matter that Artie was eighty years old, bald, and nearly as wide as he was tall. It didn’t matter that he smelled like fish and had sweat stains in all of his clothes.

If his wife thought he was cheating, then he was cheating.

 

Except he wasn’t.

Connor didn’t even bother trying not to look smug as Evan handed him the money.

“Told you,” Connor smirked.

Evan folded his arms across his chest and slumped down in his seat. “I still say he isn’t too old to cheat. My mom worked on a case last summer where a ninety-year-old man was cheating.”

“Did he look as gross as Artie McGregor?”

“No, but there was a man last spring who looked like he slept in a dumpster and he had four girlfriends and a wife.”

Connor wrinkled his nose. “Was he rich?”

“No. He was actually stealing from two of his girlfriends. That’s what made his wife come to us. She was wondering where he was getting the money from.”

Connor glanced at him thoughtfully. “You should talk to Kelsey.”

“Why?” Evan frowned.

“It might make her feel better about her parents.”

“Oh,” Evan nodded. He felt bad for Kelsey. He knew what she was going through, except he knew she had it worse than he had. She actually understood what was going on. 

And her family’s dirty laundry was being laid out for everyone to see.

“I can tell her about the time a dog caught a woman cheating on her husband with his best friend. The husband brought the dog with him when he went to the friend’s house. He knew something was up because his dog kept scratching at the balcony door and whimpering. So, he came to us for help. Turns out his wife had been out on the balcony, totally naked in broad daylight. The friend’s neighbors filed a series of complaints with the homeowner’s association.” Evan paused and tilted his head. “Would that make her feel better?”

“Maybe,” Connor snorted. “Did anyone take pictures of the woman?”

“No, but my mom took pictures of her shimmying down the side of the house in her underwear a couple days later.” Evan frowned slightly. “We didn’t put them online though.”

“Oh,” Connor sighed. “I think a story involving severe public humiliation would be best.”

“I don’t think I have any of those.”

“It was worth a shot,” Connor shrugged. “So, do you think Melody Wright is cheating on her wife?”

“Definitely,” Evan said automatically.

“You want to bet on it?”

Evan considered that for a moment. He still thought the odds were in his favor. He still thought Saturn was filled with liars and cheaters and people dumb enough or brazen enough to get caught.

“You’re on.”

 

The phone had been ringing for hours. Or so it seemed to Evan.

It was the perfect storm. A blizzard on a three-day weekend? That was just asking for trouble.

He’d never thought that Martin Luther King Day was cause for celebration, not of the drinking kind at least, but he’d been wrong.

Or maybe it was the blizzard. Maybe people were drinking because there was nothing else to do.

Nothing except prank call him. 

Connor shook his head as he hung up his phone. “I think that guy was serious.”

“What’d he say?” 

“He said he needed someone to track down his car. It’s white and buried under a mountain of snow somewhere on Main Street.”

“I got one of those earlier. I think they’re more legitimate than the people saying they need to hire a detective to find their sidewalk.”

Evan yawned and stretched and looked out the window. “I’m guessing school’s going to be closed tomorrow.”

“Damn,” Connor grinned. He snapped his fingers and stretched his legs.

Evan sat up to check his phone. “My mom says not to expect her until tonight at the earliest.”

His mother had gotten snowed in at the office. She said she was using the time to get some work done. Which was why she’d forwarded the calls to their phones. 

Evan was starting to think she’d just gotten tired of dealing with all the people looking for their cars and keys and children.

“Zoe’s stuck at Nicole’s,” Connor said as he scrolled through his phone. “My dad offered to go get her.”

Evan bit his lip as he looked up. He didn’t think he needed to ask if Connor’s dad had made him the same offer.

“They said it’s going to stop by one. The roads should be passable tonight if you want to go home.”

“Are you kicking me out?”

“No,” Evan said quickly. “I’m just saying... If you go home, you can, you know, sleep in a bed, not on a couch, and, uh, eat food that doesn’t come out of a can.”

“I happen to like SpaghettiOs.”

“Who doesn’t?” Evan retorted. “But still...”

“Are you seriously wondering if I’d rather be snowed in at home with my parents than... I don’t know. Anywhere else. Seriously. I’d rather be snowed in at Jared’s house than at my house.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him that the next time I see him,” Evan laughed.

Connor didn’t seem to have heard him. “I’d rather be snowed in at Nicole’s house with Zoe and all her girlfriends than at my house. I’d rather me snowed in at Kelsey’s house with her parents, who, according to Kelsey, have now resorted to throwing food at each other. Literally throwing food.”

“That’s wasteful.”

“I’d rather-”

“Be snowed in at Josh’s dorm?” Evan asked cautiously.

Connor snapped upright at that. “Okay, so there is something worse than being stuck at home with my parents.”

Evan glanced at him curiously. He wanted to ask why that was, but he knew better than to expect an answer. 

His phone rang before he could try.

It was a seven-year-old who had lost her tooth in the snow.

Evan assured her that the tooth fairy would understand and would come see her anyway.

 

Evan jolted awake at the sound of the doorbell ringing. He blinked and yawned and mumbled something so incoherent that even he wasn’t sure what he’d said.

“Fall asleep?”

Okay, at least that sounded like actual words.

“Yes,” Connor smirked. “You did fall asleep.”

Evan nodded dazedly. “Time?”

“Eight. You were out for two hours.”

“I was tired,” Evan mumbled. It was true. He was exhausted. He hadn’t slept right the night before. “Aren’t you tired?”

“Not really,” Connor shrugged.

Evan glanced at him skeptically. If anyone had the right to feel like this, it would be the guy who’d slept on his lumpy couch.

Evan jumped up when he remembered what had woken him up. “Doorbell! Did you order food?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. He stumbled across the house, flicking lights on as he went. He peeked through the window and blinked when he saw that Alana was standing on the porch with two other girls.

His first thought was that he wondered how they’d gotten there. 

Then, he wondered why they were there.

He threw the door open and blinked at them.

“Uh, hi,” Evan said uncertainly.

“We need your help,” the girl on the left said frantically.

Evan nodded slightly. It took him a moment to place her. She was the waitress from the diner, which, if memory served him correctly, meant that she was Alana’s sister.

“Alicia needs your help,” Alana clarified. “Alice and I are doing just fine.”

“Someone’s blackmailing me,” Alicia cried. She sniffled and looked to her sisters for support.

Evan nodded and gestured for them to come inside. “So, you, uh, braved the snow to come here because someone’s blackmailing you?”

“We’re delivering food for our uncle,” Alana explained. “I mentioned that this was your street and Alicia decided to-”

“I’ve been getting these notes,” Alicia cut in. “Everywhere I go, notes!”

“What do they say?” Evan asked.

“They tell me to do things.”

“What kind of things?”

“I don’t know. Stupid things. Like, the other day one of them told me to help Alana finish cleaning out the attic.”

“Which was fair because Mom had already asked you to do that,” Alana reminded her.

“I know, but...” Alicia sighed. “And another one told me not to skip out when it’s my turn to do the dishes.”

It took all of Evan’s willpower not to raise his eyebrows at Alana. “And what do the notes say will happen if you don’t follow their instructions?”

“They say they’ll tell my parents about...” 

“They say they’ll tell our parents about this club Alicia’s in,” Alice filled in.

“What kind of club?” Evan said.

“It’s a very sophisticated club,” Alicia sniffed. “It’s-”

“They play card games and gamble,” Alana interrupted. “She managed to run up a huge debt. Our brother, Alan, and I had to bail her out.”

“I’m going to pay you back,” Alicia snapped.

The look on Alana’s face made it clear that she didn’t believe that for a second.

“Are you still in the club?”

“No,” Alicia sighed. “It’s not fun anymore. It hasn’t been for a while. Not since Maddie quit.”

Alicia breathed in quickly and took a step back when she saw Connor standing in the doorway. 

He looked at Evan and rolled his eyes.

“Why don’t you two go in the kitchen with Connor?” Evan said to Alicia and Alice. “We have... Nothing except, uh, water. We have water.”

“We need to get going,” Alana said anxiously. “We have a car full of food.”

“This will only take a minute,” Evan insisted.

He waited until Connor had led Alana’s sisters into the kitchen. He stared at her as soon as the coast was clear.

“So, are you going to tell her or am I?”

Alana opened her mouth to protest but changed her mind. “Was I that obvious?”

“Not to your sisters, apparently,” Evan grinned.

“I would’ve done a better job covering it up if I’d thought she’d go to you.”

“I’m sure you would have.”

“She’s just so...” Alana shuddered. “I’ll tell her eventually.”

“Are you going to wait until she pays you back?”

Alana snorted. “Not unless you think it’s okay for me to blackmail her forever.”

“I’m going to tell her I don’t have time to take on another case.”

“Don’t bother. She’ll forget all about this by the time she goes to bed. Trust me.” Alana nodded at the kitchen. “Can I get some water before we go? I’m dying out there.”

“Sure,” Evan said.

Alana nodded gratefully and followed him into the kitchen. 

Alicia was standing by the sink and showing Connor the pictures on her phone. At first, Evan thought that Connor’s expression was sour because he didn’t like the fact that he was being forced to look at her friends. Then, he heard what Alicia was saying.

“And here’s another one of Josh. That was a fun night. Your cousin really is hilarious. Did he ever tell you about the time-” Alicia stopped speaking and frowned when she saw the way Connor was staring at Evan.

Apparently, even she knew a ‘save me’ look when she saw one.

Alana prodded Alicia’s shoulder and nodded at the door. “We need to go. Uncle Louie will kill us if we’re late delivering the food.”

Alicia made a face. “I can’t believe people expect their food to be delivered quickly in this mess.”

“Aren’t you the one who tried to order breakfast this morning?” Alana reminded her. “The streets hadn’t even been plowed yet.”

“I wanted waffles,” Alicia said defensively. 

“Come on, let’s go,” Alana urged. 

“Hey, wait,” Alicia said quickly. “Can we come back later, so I can finish telling him about my notes?”

“You’re going out with Jordan later,” Alana said. 

“Oh, right. Maybe tomorrow-”

“Sure, we’ll come back tomorrow,” Alana cut in. She winked at Evan as she herded her sisters out of the room.

Connor visibly relaxed when he heard the door click shut behind them. “Is Alana blackmailing her sister?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded. 

“Can’t say I blame her...”

“Yeah,” Evan agreed. He glanced at Connor curiously. “So, uh, Josh is in Alicia’s gambling club?”

Connor nodded mutely.

“Weird coincidence or...”

“Josh is always doing questionable things,” Connor shrugged.

He said it in a way that made Evan feel like the conversation was over. 

“Did you get any interesting calls while I was asleep?” Evan wondered.

Connor shook his head. “Your mom finally decided to let the calls go to voicemail.”

“About time,” Evan muttered.

“School’s closed tomorrow,” Connor informed him. “The roads are still pretty bad. Your mom doesn’t know if she’s going to make it home tonight.”

“More SpaghettiOs for us then.”

Connor nodded stiffly. “My mom called while you were asleep.”

“She did?”

“She’s decided to donate a fountain to the school in honor of Joey.”

Evan wrinkled his nose. “Why a fountain?”

Connor shrugged. “They’re going to have a dedication ceremony next month. She wanted to make sure you know about it.”

“Is she doing this because it’ll be a year since-”

“Exactly,” Connor said. “It won’t be up in time for the anniversary, but she isn’t worried about that. She’s taking Zoe on a spa trip for the actual anniversary. They’ve been planning that for ages.”

“Just the two of them? You’re staying with your, uh, your dad?”

“I told him I’m going to be on a stakeout that weekend.”

Evan tilted his head. “Did my mom give you a case?”

Connor stared at him until the pieces clicked together in his brain.

“You don’t want to stay home with your dad,” Evan guessed. “You want to stay here?”

“If that’s okay...”

“I think we have a cot in the basement.”

“The couch isn’t that bad,” Connor assured him.

“We might have an air mattress somewhere. Or we could buy one. We should probably buy one. That’s the kind of thing you should have, isn’t it? You should have an air mattress in case people-”

“The couch is fine.”

“We can-”

“The couch is fine. Okay?”

“Okay.”


	23. Chapter 23

“I’m not doing all the work,” Evan snapped.

“Do you want to get an A?” Jared retorted.

“Yeah, but-”

“Then, you don’t want us to come anywhere near the project.”

“Speak for yourself,” Connor snapped. “I prefer to earn my grades.”

“Fine,” Jared sighed. He shook his head at Evan. “Don’t come crying to me when your perfect record is broken.”

“Why did we decide to team up with him?” Connor asked Evan. “Ms. Thomas said we could work in groups of two or three, didn’t she? We didn’t need a third person.”

“You would’ve left me to fend for myself,” Jared gasped. “It’s a jungle out there.”

“Do your share and we won’t have a problem.”

Jared threw his arms up in defeat. “Hey, uh, so you guys really don’t have to wait with me.”

Evan blinked as it suddenly dawned on him that they were standing in a line of some kind.

He tilted his head at Jared. “Are you buying a Candy-gram?”

He could feel his face heating up as Jared and Connor exchanged a look. “I didn’t realize we were in line. I just thought we were...”

He’d thought they were what? Having a conversation in the middle of the hallway instead of going to lunch?

“You guys can go on without me,” Jared said quickly. “Are we eating in the library today?”

Connor glanced at him curiously. “Who are you buying a Candy-gram for?”

“No one,” Jared yelped. “This is the Candy-gram line? I thought it was...”

He sighed and squared his shoulders when he saw that it was his turn. “One please.”

Jared hunched over the table as he filled out the card. He went to drop it in the basket, but Connor snatched it from him before he could.

“Zoe,” Connor gasped. “You bought a Candy-gram for my sister?”

Evan stared at Jared in disbelief. 

Jared’s eyes widened as he looked between the two of them. “It’s not like that! It’s a joke! Look what I wrote on the inside.”

“To the brat-mobile,” Connor read. “The hell does that mean?”

“It’s an inside joke,” Jared explained swiftly. “It’s... It’s really not that funny unless you were there. I’m only sending it to her because we were working on a video the other day and she started going on about how she bets she’s going to get a ton of Candy-grams this year, but none of them will be from people she knows.”

“So, naturally, you decided to send her one?”

“Well, yeah,” Jared shrugged. “It isn’t serious. It’s just...” He sighed and shook his head. “Her brother and her ex? I really couldn’t have picked a worse time to do this, could I?”

Evan decided to take pity on Jared. Not because he deserved it, not because Evan believed him. He knew that look. It was the same look Jared used to get in ninth grade when he talked about Rosanna Richter. He caught Jared’s eye and knew that Jared knew he knew.

“So, how are we going to do this?” Evan asked. “The project, I mean. Not...” He gestured vaguely in Jared’s direction. “I can start the research tonight. I’m good at that part. The actual presentation part though...”

“I can put together the PowerPoint,” Jared offered eagerly. “And I’ll do the majority of the talking.”

“I can do the essay portion,” Connor volunteered.

“Okay,” Evan nodded. “And I can help both of you with your parts. I know my notes can be a bit-”

“Thorough,” Connor filled in.

“Exhausting,” Jared added.

“Contain a lot of unnecessary details.”

“Look like something an absent-minded professor would come up with.”

Evan wrinkled his nose. “I wonder if Ms. Thomas would be willing to make an exception and let me work alone.”

 

The dedication ceremony had to be postponed twice due to snow. Evan didn’t know what they’d expected. Planning an outdoor ceremony during the winter was just asking for trouble.

Evan didn’t know what to wear when it was finally time. He felt weird asking Connor about it. He suspected that Connor would be wearing a suit and tie, which made sense for him because Joey had been his brother and he’d have to be up there on the platform with his parents and Zoe. He’d have to pose for pictures and shake hands and thank people for coming.

Evan would just be one of the attendees. He’d just be a face in the crowd. 

He hoped he’d just be a face in the crowd.

His mother was going with him, so he supposed that increased the odds that people would notice him. He thought about asking her what she was wearing, but he didn’t know if that would help him any. He still didn’t quite understand how a woman’s dress code related to a man’s dress code. If his mother said she was wearing a dress, did that automatically mean he had to wear a suit? He only owned one suit. It was the one he’d worn to Joey’s funeral, which was kind of fitting, but still...

He jumped when his phone buzzed and he accepted a call from Jared.

“Hey,” Jared said hurriedly. “What’re you wearing today?”

Evan paused and frowned at his phone. “Today?”

“To the fountain thing,” Jared said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “My mom said I should wear a suit, but I’m not doing that if you aren’t.”

“You’re going?”

Jared had hardly known Joey. Evan knew that was his fault, that Jared saw it that way at least, but it was true. He couldn’t imagine why Jared was giving up his Saturday afternoon to...

Zoe. He was going because of Zoe.

Evan was suddenly tempted to tell Jared that he was going in jeans and a hoodie. 

He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to push that thought out of his head. He didn’t know why it had been there in the first place. He didn’t own Zoe. They’d broken up almost a year ago. She was free to date whoever she wanted.

And what were the odds that she’d actually go for Jared? That his feelings were actually reciprocated? That she was finally in a place where she felt up to seeing someone?

And it wasn’t like Evan had thought they’d get back together when she was in that place again. He couldn’t imagine going out with her now after everything that had happened. He didn’t think he even wanted to imagine that.

But still... There was a part of him that wanted to smack Jared upside the head and shout, “Really?”

“You still there?” Jared asked.

“Yeah,” Evan muttered. He stared at his closet and made a split-second decision. “I’m wearing khakis and a button-down.”

“Okay, cool. Me too.” Jared paused for a moment. “You want me to pick you up or...”

“I’m going with my mom.” Evan stared at the ceiling and debated exactly how nice he was feeling that day. “We can pick you up if you want.”

“Sure,” Jared said gratefully.

“Great,” Evan sighed.

 

The courtyard was packed when they got there. Packed with students and teachers and parents and adults that Evan suspected were friends with the Murphys. 

And there were news crews. Of course, there were news crews.

Most of them seemed to be focused on Kevin Murphy and his family, which was kind of a relief. Evan did see at least one reporter snap a picture of his mom and him when they walked by though.

His mother smiled tightly and squeezed his hand. Evan was surprised when she didn’t launch into a tirade about how they hadn’t given the guy permission to photograph them. He supposed she was trying to be on her best behavior.

The ceremony was short and involved a lot of clapping and speeches (short speeches) and an actual ribbon-cutting. 

Zoe sang _A Song for Joey_. She got through it without crying. 

Evan did a double take when he realized that Jared was filming her. 

Maybe that was why Jared was there. To make a video for her channel. Maybe that was his only reason for attending.

Evan didn’t ask.

He turned to go when the ceremony was over, but Jared stopped him.

“Aren’t you coming?” Jared asked.

“To...” Evan blinked.

“Louie’s. Zoe said everyone’s going there after.”

Evan shook his head. No one had said a word about that to him. “I have to...” He looked at his mother expectantly.

“We have to head over to the office,” Heidi finished sheepishly. 

“Oh,” Jared nodded. “Okay, uh, I guess I can get a ride with-”

His voice was suddenly drowned out by a series of screams and curses from the platform. Evan spun around to watch as Kevin and Nadine Murphy got into a fight that very quickly went from zero to sixty.

He couldn’t understand what they were shouting, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t need to be able to understand them to tell that they were angry. Furious. So upset that it really didn’t come as a surprise when Nadine shoved Kevin off the platform and into the crowd.

The reaction was instantaneous. The crowd erupted with shouts. The flashes from the cameras were blinding. Evan could hear several reporters behind him narrating what they were seeing.

Kevin pulled himself up and shouted something at his wife that made her go white. Evan could see that even from where he was standing.

He watched as Nadine stormed off the stage and ran towards the parking lot.

Kelsey took off after her mother and Zoe ran off after Kelsey. 

Larry Murphy started brushing dirt off his brother while Cynthia smiled tightly and spoke to the reporters. 

Connor scanned the crowd until his eyes landed on Evan. He jerked his head in the direction that the girls had gone.

“Come on,” Jared urged. 

Heidi laughed when she saw the look on Evan’s face. “Go ahead. I’ll see you at home later.”

 

They found Kelsey in the middle of a game of ‘keep away’ with her mother’s keys.

She was standing on her tiptoes and swinging them above her head while her mother attempted to snatch them away.

“You’re not driving like this,” Kelsey yelped. She screamed and tossed the keys to Zoe when her mother suddenly tried to tackle her.

“Like what?” Nadine snapped. “I’m fine!”

“You are not!” Kelsey shrieked. “I saw you before we left. I saw you take-”

Kelsey bit her lip and looked down when she realized that they were attracting a crowd. “Mom, please. Just let me drive you home, okay?”

Zoe gasped as her aunt yanked on her arm until she dropped the keys. Nadine swept down to pick them up before anyone could react.

She swung the keys around victoriously. “I love you, sweetie, but you worry too much. Girls your age shouldn’t worry this much. You’ll have wrinkles before you’re twenty.”

“Mom-” Kelsey started.

Her mother bent down to kiss her forehead. “I love you. Never forget that.”

Kelsey leapt forward as her mother shakily climbed into the car. “Mom-”

Her eyes widened when she saw her father approaching with Larry and Cynthia. “Dad! She’s trying to-”

Kevin put a hand on Kelsey’s arm and muttered something into her ear. She folded her arms across her chest and glowered at him as her mother started backing out of the parking spot.

“You better,” Kelsey hissed. “Don’t lose her. We don’t want a repeat of-”

“It’s fine, Kelsey,” Kevin insisted. “I’ll follow her home. Go have dinner with your cousins.”

Kelsey nodded reluctantly. Her eyes looked glassy when she turned to face Zoe. “Are you guys ready?”

 

No one spoke during the ride to Louie’s. Kelsey was clearly caught up in her thoughts and Zoe was focusing on her driving with an intensity Evan had never seen in her. Connor seemed anxious. He kept shifting around restlessly next to Evan. Jared eyed him warily and leaned to the side until his head was pressed up against the window.

They found an empty booth and placed their orders and stared at each other like they weren’t sure whose turn it was to speak.

Jared finally broke the silence. 

“So, what did your mother take?”

Evan elbowed him in the ribs. “Jared!”

“What?” Jared scoffed. “Did you see her eyes? She was obviously high on something.”

“She has a problem with pills,” Kelsey said quietly. “She... This doesn’t get out, okay? If you say one word about this to anyone, I will skin you alive.”

“I believe you,” Jared said swiftly.

“She downed a bunch of them before we left. She just... She gets anxious when she has to do something like this, when she has to play the part of the loyal wife, the devoted mother. She didn’t ask for this life, you know. Dad wasn’t always The Kevin Murphy.”

“She’ll be okay,” Zoe said reassuringly. “She always is.”

“Yeah,” Kelsey muttered. She closed her eyes and took a breath. “So, what’s the deal with the fountain? Wouldn’t a bench have been better? Something people can actually use.”

“Mom thinks a fountain represents eternal life or... something,” Zoe laughed. “I don’t know. You can ask her yourself if you’re prepared to sit through a lecture that almost sort of makes sense.”

“I’ll pass,” Kelsey decided. She settled back into the cushions and blinked at the counter. She reached out to tap the space in front of Evan. “Hey, I think Alana’s trying to get your attention.”

Evan turned to look. Alana was indeed trying to get his attention. She nodded at a table next to her when he caught her eye.

“I’ll be right back,” Evan mumbled.

He squeezed out of the booth and went to sit across from her.

“You need help blackmailing your sister?”

Alana rolled her eyes. “She’s onto me. She actually figured it out later that night. She tried to blackmail me by saying that she would tell our parents how I’d blackmailed her. Of course, I still have the upper hand because of the gambling thing, so...”

“Right,” Evan grinned. “So, what’s up?”

Alana reached into her backpack and pulled out a Candy-gram card. “Can you figure out who sent this to me?”

Evan squinted at the card. It had been over a week since they’d been delivered, but it was still in pristine condition. Evan supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. This was Alana he was talking about after all.

He felt like blushing when he read the inscription. It was flowery, but not too flowery. Sweet, but not too sweet. It was just...

He glanced at Alana curiously. “You have no idea who sent this to you?”

“None,” Alana shook her head.

Evan doubted that. He knew the handwriting and she wasn’t even his best friend. Tracy had a very distinct way of dotting her _Is_ with hearts. He’d asked her about it once and she’d shrugged and said she thought they looked better that way.

“Do you really not know or are you afraid you’re wrong?” Evan asked softly.

Alana’s eyes widened as she grabbed the card again. “Why would she do this though? Do you think it’s a joke or...?”

“I don’t think it’s a joke,” Evan said automatically.

Alana bit her lip and gingerly put the card away. “If you’re wrong... If you’re wrong and I say something to her...”

“I think it’s been over a week since Valentine’s Day and this explains why Tracy looked like someone had kicked her puppy when I saw her yesterday.”

“I should talk to her,” Alana decided. She bit her lip again. “What should I say?”

“Um,” Evan laughed. “You could open with the fact that you had to hire a private detective to find out who sent you the card. That would explain why it took you so long to acknowledge it at least.”

“Okay,” Alana smiled. “And then what?”

Evan shrugged. “I don’t know. Play it by ear.”

“I’m not good at playing it by ear,” Alana hissed. “I need a plan or-or a script or... something.”

“But this is Tracy,” Evan reminded her. “You’ll be fine.”

“I’ll be fine,” Alana nodded. “Okay. Thanks. I should... I think I’ll go do that now.”

Evan stood up too. He stood up and turned towards his table until he realized that they were all gawking at the TV above the counter.

Alana grabbed the remote to turn the volume up. The diner fell silent as everyone turned to watch.

“...Expect delays and detours if you are travelling around the Cecil Bridge area tonight. Local authorities have now confirmed that multiple witnesses report seeing the driver of the abandoned vehicle jump from the bridge this evening. This is a breaking story. For more information, check our website at...”

Evan felt his blood go cold when the camera zoomed in on the abandoned car. His breath caught in his chest. He hoped he was wrong. He hoped that wasn’t the same car. He hoped...

He closed his eyes when he heard Kelsey screaming behind him.

He wasn’t wrong. That car belonged to Nadine Murphy.


	24. Chapter 24

Kelsey wasn’t screaming. 

Evan thought it was probably an exaggeration to say that she’d screamed at all. 

She’d simply let out a shriek of recognition that had been so bone-chilling it had felt like she’d screamed her head off. 

She didn’t make a sound after that.

That was even more bone-chilling than her shriek had been. She sat there with her eyes glued to the screen, rocking back and forth and shaking her head.

“That’s not her car,” Kelsey finally muttered. “It’s not. It-it can’t be, can it?”

She looked at Zoe frantically. “Did you see the plates? I didn’t see the plates. It could be another car. There are other white Lexuses out there. There are other ones with-with those stickers on them and-”

Kelsey’s phone was ringing. She didn’t answer it. Evan wasn’t sure if she had even noticed it was going off. He wasn’t sure if anyone else had noticed either.

He cleared his throat and tried to tell her, but he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

Zoe finally reached over and took the phone out of Kelsey’s purse. She squeezed Kelsey’s arm. “It’s your dad.”

Kelsey shook her head desperately. “No-no-no-no.”

Zoe nodded and accepted the call. “Hey, Uncle Kevin. It’s Zoe. We’re-”

Zoe swallowed audibly. “Yeah, um... She’s right here.”

Kelsey closed her eyes as she gingerly accepted the phone. She breathed into it heavily. “Dad?”

It didn’t take long for the tears to start flowing down Kelsey’s face. She let out a squeak and nodded and mumbled something that Evan didn’t catch at all.

She hung up and tried to pull herself to her feet. “We-I... I have to go. I have to... I have to...”

“We’ll take you,” Zoe said quickly.

Kelsey nodded dazedly. “Home. I have to go home. I have to...”

Zoe wrapped an arm around her cousin and guided her out of the booth. Connor jumped up to help.

Evan watched them go. He looked at Jared and Jared looked at him. They stared each other and then at Alana, who was gaping at them and opening and closing her mouth like a fish.

“I don’t have enough money for this,” Evan blurted out. He let out a startled laugh and winced at his words. The laughter continued to bubble up inside him until it spilled out. Jared caught his eye and started laughing too. 

“You don’t have...” Alana started uncertainly.

Jared had to bend over because he was laughing so hard.

It wasn’t funny. Evan knew that and he was fairly certain that Jared did too.

“Our food,” Evan clarified hurriedly. “I, uh... I don’t have enough to cover the whole bill. I-I don’t even have enough to cover half of it.”

“Me neither,” Jared wheezed.

Alana blinked at them and shook her head. “It’s fine. I’ll, uh, I’ll tell my uncle what happened. It’s on the house.”

Evan nodded gratefully. He looked out the window. The Murphys were gone.

“Do you guys need a ride?” Alana offered. “You came with them, didn’t you?”

Evan nodded again. “Yeah.”

“Okay,” Alana said. “I’ll get you some boxes for all of that and we can go.”

 

Jared was standing on the other side of Evan’s locker when he closed it. He jumped and muttered, “Jeez...”

Jared didn’t seem to notice. “Do you know what happens to a person’s body when they jump off a bridge?”

“What?” Evan gasped. He glanced around wildly. “No! I... Why?”

“It’s awful. It’s really-”

“You looked it up?” Evan groaned. “Why did you look it up?”

“For science,” Jared shrugged. “I was curious. It’s really bad. It’s-”

“I don’t want to know!”

“Fine,” Jared snapped. He leaned against the locker next to Evan’s. “Why do you think she did it?”

“Who?” Evan blinked. He blinked even harder when he realized that was a stupid question.

Jared rolled his eyes. “Nadine Murphy. She had everything, didn’t she? She was loaded. She-”

“Her husband is loaded,” Evan corrected.

“Still, she had money and-”

“Money doesn’t buy happiness. It doesn’t make people feel better about themselves.”

“I guess,” Jared shrugged. He narrowed his eyes when he looked up again. “What’re you all staring at?”

Evan couldn’t mask his surprise. Jared was annoyed that people were watching them? Jared was annoyed that people were paying attention to what he was saying?

Maybe Jared actually did get how serious this was.

“If I had her money, I would’ve paid some scientists to come up with a really amazing pill,” Jared said thoughtfully. “Or weed. Some really amazing, mood enhancing weed.”

Or maybe not.

 

The news coverage about Nadine Murphy’s funeral wasn’t as bad as Evan had been expecting. He wasn’t sure if that was because the reporters were behaving decently for a change or because they didn’t think it was a story that was worth telling.

Or maybe they wanted to avoid glamorizing the situation. Because it would’ve been glamorized if they’d covered it in detail.

Evan knew that and he didn’t even go to the funeral.

He knew because Connor kept texting him throughout the day. Texts telling him about the celebrities who had shown up to pay their respects. Texts about how his mother was in love with some lady’s hat. Texts about how he was texting Evan to make himself look busy and keep people from approaching him for a few minutes.

Evan didn’t respond to most of the texts. Partially because he was in school and he didn’t feel like getting in trouble. Mostly because he didn’t think he had to respond. Connor was texting him because he needed to text, not because he was looking for answers.

His phone didn’t ring until school let out. He had just finished packing his bag and making sure he had everything he needed for the weekend when Connor actually called him.

“Hey,” Evan answered.

“What’re you doing now?”

“Leaving school... Why?”

“Can you come over?”

Evan grabbed his backpack as it started to slide off his shoulder. “Now? Aren’t you hosting the wake now?”

He’d just seen a text asking him if he thought that Connor could get away with hiding in the basement until everyone left his house. 

“Kelsey wants to talk to you.”

Evan froze in the middle of the parking lot. He froze until the sound of a horn blaring made him move. “She wants to talk to me?”

“Yeah... So, can you?”

“Um,” Evan laughed uncertainly. “I guess? I’m supposed to work, but I can call my mom. It’s been pretty quiet in there this week.”

“Okay. Park in the alley behind my house and come around to the kitchen door.”

Evan shook his head as he hung up and dialed his mom. He expected her to fuss when he told her where he was going, but she didn’t. She didn’t even seem surprised.

Evan froze again when he heard a voice in the background. A man’s voice. His heart did a flip when he realized that she wasn’t answering him with her detective voice. She was talking to him like he was...

A friend? Did she even have male friends? 

“Is someone there?” Evan asked.

“What? Oh, uh... It’s fine, sweetie. Go talk to Kelsey. That poor girl. She’s really been through a lot this year, hasn’t she?”

Evan nodded glumly. “Yeah, she really has, but, uh, I can see her tomorrow if you need me to-”

“It’s fine,” Heidi assured him. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Evan stared at his phone when the call ended. He pushed the questions out of his mind. He didn’t want to think about them. He didn’t even want to acknowledge their existence.

 

Kelsey was on her laptop when Evan walked in. She was staring at the screen like she was working on a project. An incredibly frustrating project, from the looks of it.

Zoe gently nudged Kelsey’s shoulder. “Evan’s here.”

Kelsey glanced up long enough to blink at him. “I need your help.”

“Okay,” Evan said hesitantly. “With what?”

Kelsey snapped her laptop shut and leaned back in her chair. “Those sites are ridiculously hard to hack into!”

“What sites?”

“Your sites,” Kelsey gestured at him disdainfully. “Your detective databases.”

Evan looked at Connor, who shrugged and shook his head. “Why are you trying to-”

“I’m trying to emancipate myself,” Kelsey hissed. She narrowed her eyes at Evan and her cousins. “This doesn’t leave the room, okay?”

They all nodded immediately.

“I need to prove that my dad isn’t fit to be my guardian.”

“Kels,” Zoe said softly.

“Don’t ‘Kels’ me!” Kelsey snapped. “I can’t live with him, okay? I can’t wait until I turn eighteen. That’s over a year away! I can’t stay in that house and pretend everything’s fine because it’s not. He drove her to this with all his infidelities. He made her jump off that bridge. He...”

“You can stay here as long as you want,” Zoe reminded her. “My room is your room for as long as you need, okay? It’ll be fun. We can stay up late and-”

“Paint our nails? Bake brownies? Gossip about boys? That won’t bring my mom back!”

Zoe bit her lip and looked down. “I-I don’t know what to say, okay? I don’t...”

Kelsey blinked back her tears. “I should’ve cut my hair.”

“What?” 

“My hair. My stupid, freaking hair! Mom was always telling me I should cut it. She thought it would look bouncier that way.” 

“Kelsey-”

“I should’ve... I should’ve spent more time with her. I should’ve listened and... She kept trying to talk to me and I-I... I didn’t want to hear it. I told her I wasn’t her therapist. I actually told her I wasn’t her therapist!”

“You weren’t,” Zoe whispered. “Your mom needed help. Professional help. We all knew that. We all-”

“She was getting help,” Kelsey snapped. “She was in therapy. She was doing everything right and...” She spun around to glare at Evan. “I want to sue her therapist.”

“Kels,” Zoe pled.

“I’m serious. Why didn’t it work? Why didn’t he cure her? He must be a fraud. Can you look him up? Maybe there are others. There must be others.”

“It’s not that simple,” Connor said hoarsely.

“Why?” Kelsey sobbed. She couldn’t keep the tears in check anymore. “Why isn’t it that simple? You go to the doctor; the doctor makes you better. That’s how it works. Everyone knows that!”

Evan stared at his hands. His heart was pounding heavily in his chest. He didn’t look up when the door swung open. 

Kelsey did though. He could hear her sniffle and groan. “What’re you doing here?”

“Dad’s looking for you,” Josh said. “Why’re you crying?”

“Oh my God,” Kelsey moaned. “Are you that stupid? Our mother died and you’re asking me why I’m crying?”

Josh leaned over to look at the notebook in front of her. “What’s this?”

Kelsey bolted up to grab it from him. “Give that back!”

Josh deftly held it out of her reach as he studied her writing. “How to become an emancipated minor? What’s this?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

“You’re doing this?” Josh tossed the notebook on the table. “Is this what we’re supposed to be doing?”

“You’re twenty!”

“So what?”

Kelsey shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe Dad wants you to take over for him someday.”

“I’m the oldest!”

“I’m the smartest!”

“I’m the boy!”

Kelsey’s mouth opened and closed as she gawked at her brother. “Please tell me you did not just say that.”

“It’s true,” Josh shrugged. “I’m the boy, so-”

“This isn’t _Pride and Prejudice_. That doesn’t mean anything.”

“It does to Dad.”

Kelsey’s face went blank as she struggled to breathe. “Get out of here.”

“But Dad-”

“Fuck Dad,” Kelsey snarled. “Tell him he can go to hell for all I care.”

Josh pursed his lips and rolled his eyes. “Fine. Be that way.”

“I will!” Kelsey called after him. “I will be that way!”

She buried her head in her arms as soon as the door shut behind him.

The room fell silent as Kelsey struggled not to cry. Evan’s stomach dropped when he heard her wheezing into her arms.

The door swung open again. Evan braced himself to see Josh or, even worse, Kelsey’s dad, but it was just Jamie.

“Cynthia said the good coffee’s in here,” Jamie said as she swept into the room. Her eyes widened when she saw Kelsey.

Jamie knelt down next to her. “Kelsey, honey...”

Kelsey shook her head and pulled herself back up. “I’m fine. I’m-”

“You’re not fine,” Jamie said soothingly. “And that’s okay. It’s okay that you’re not fine.” 

“It’s not. I-I have to...” Kelsey looked at the door helplessly. “I need to get back out there, don’t I? Did my dad send you to get me?”

“No,” Jamie shook her head. “I’m here because of my need for caffeine. That’s it, I swear.”

Kelsey nodded numbly. “I have to go out there. I have to thank people and...” She looked away when she saw how Jamie was watching her. “I’m fine. I am. I’m fine. I’m...”

“You don’t have to be fine right now,” Jamie said softly. “In fact, not to be the bearer of bad news, but there’s probably going to be a part of you, a small part hopefully, that will never feel fine again. Or, you know, not for a while at least.”

“Gee, thanks,” Kelsey scoffed.

“Losing someone you love is never easy and your mom-”

Kelsey slumped down in her chair and crossed her legs. “I don’t get why she did this. I don’t...”

Evan stared at his hands like staring at them would make him invisible. He wanted to leave. He was starting to feel like he shouldn’t be there. And judging from the way Connor was shifting around next to him, he had a feeling he wasn’t the only one.

Leaving required moving though and moving would draw attention to him and he really didn’t want to do that just then.

“There are all these articles about her,” Kelsey said stiffly. “All these articles speculating about why she did it. And the comments... People are judging her. They didn’t know her and they’re tearing her apart and...”

“You shouldn’t be reading those,” Jamie whispered.

“I can’t help it! They’re about my mom! I have to...” Kelsey wiped her nose with her sleeve. “It’s his fault. My dad. He... She was getting better. She was trying to get better and then all this happened and she couldn’t handle it. She couldn’t deal with it, so she jumped.”

“Kelsey,” Zoe said quietly. “You shouldn’t blame your dad. It’s-”

“It is!” Kelsey cried. “It’s his fault! And... And mine and Josh’s and-and it’s mostly Dad’s, but... I should’ve cut my hair.” She folded her hair so that it was above her shoulders. “This doesn’t look that bad, does it? I should’ve listened to her. I should’ve had it cut like this.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered,” Jamie said. “Not really. Not in the long run. These things are complicated. There are so many... so many factors involved that we can never be sure exactly what was going through her head when she made that choice.”

“She didn’t have to make it. She could’ve lived. She could’ve chosen to live. She didn’t have to give up.” Kelsey sniffled loudly. “I should’ve gone with her. I should’ve gotten in the car with her and... I could’ve talked her down. I could’ve...”

Jamie blinked at her sadly. “It’s not your fault, Kelsey. You can’t blame yourself for this.”

Kelsey closed her mouth tightly. She glared at the wall like she wanted to see it burn.

Jamie carefully rocked back on her heels. “I think you... Are you seeing anyone? A counselor or-”

“No,” Kelsey said quickly.

“Has your dad arranged for you to-”

“No!”

“Okay,” Jamie sighed. “Okay. You’re staying here, right?”

Kelsey nodded. “For as long as they’ll have me.”

“Okay. I’m going to talk to my sister. We’ll-”

“I don’t need a shrink! I just...”

“There’s no shame in getting help when you need it,” Jamie told her. “I’ve been in therapy for years. Off and on at times, but... I started going when I was about your age.” 

“Why?”

“Why?” Jamie blinked. “Well... I wasn’t happy. I had-have anxiety and I was depressed. I hated myself and I thought that everyone else did too. I really... It was bad. My parents finally made me see a therapist after I tried to kill myself.”

Kelsey’s posture went rigid. “You tried to kill yourself?”

Evan looked up long enough to see that this was news to Connor and Zoe too. He immediately dropped his gaze and studied his hands like the world would end if he stopped staring at them.

“It didn’t work, obviously. And I’m happy about that now. At the time though... I don’t know what was going through your mother’s mind when she jumped, but I can say that I wouldn’t wish that feeling on anyone. It’s overwhelming and awful and-”

“So, people should kill themselves because-”

“That’s not... It’s not the right choice. I definitely see that now.”

“What changed? How did you get better?” 

Kelsey didn’t say it the words, but Evan could tell she was wondering why her mother didn’t.

“I’m not cured, if that’s what you mean. I still have my days and my moments and I get overwhelmed and anxious and upset. I definitely feel better than I did when I was at my worst though. In my case, I think things got better as I got older. I started feeling more comfortable in my skin, with all of this.” Jamie smiled slightly as she patted her stomach. 

“I learned not to hate my reflection. Therapy helped with that. So did writing about it and... Time. Just time. And, most importantly, I became more comfortable in my head because, really, that’s what you are. A brain attached to a body. I learned more about myself and figured out ways to cope with the things that bothered me. It’s a process though. An ongoing one. A never-ending one.” 

Kelsey was silent for a moment. “Never-ending, unless you jump off a bridge.”

Kelsey suddenly pushed back from the table and stood up. “I’m going to go lie down.”

She lowered her head and ran for the stairs before anyone could respond.

Zoe watched her anxiously. “Should I...”

“Give her a minute, then...” Jamie bit her lip uncertainly. “I’ll go with you. We should, um, we should...”

“Make sure she isn’t going to try anything,” Connor finished.

“Oh, God,” Zoe whimpered. “She wouldn’t, would she?”

Connor shrugged and gestured at the stairs. “She might. Listen to her. She’s losing it.”

“She is not,” Zoe retorted. “She’s just... She just needs some alone time.”

“We should give her space,” Jamie decided. “Give her space, but make sure she knows we’re around if she needs us.”

Zoe nodded and followed her aunt to the stairs.

Evan exhaled as soon as they were gone. He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath. He hadn’t realized that at all.

He glanced at Connor and his mind went blank. He wanted to go, but it seemed rude to make a run for it. 

“We found the jade necklace,” Evan finally said. 

“Oh,” Connor muttered. “Where was it?”

“In a box in her basement.” Evan made a face. “So, technically, we didn’t find it. She did, but still...”

“All that time we spent searching for it was a waste.”

“Exactly,” Evan nodded.

Connor wrinkled his nose. “Are you hungry?”

“Um,” Evan laughed. He looked down at his clothes. He definitely was not dressed to make an appearance at an A-list wake.

“Let’s go,” Connor said.

“Go where?” 

Connor shrugged and eyed the door warily. Evan could hear voices carrying on outside. “I don’t care. Anywhere but here.”


	25. Chapter 25

It was raining. Pouring, really. Evan wondered if somewhere out there an old man was snoring.

Evan hated driving in the rain. He hated not being able to see right. He hated feeling like he was going to crash into things, like they suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

He turned to face Connor. “Where do you want to go?”

He hoped Connor didn’t want to go far. He kind of hoped he didn’t want to go anywhere at all.

Connor shook his head. His expression went blank as he scrolled through his phone. “We can’t leave. My parents are watching us.”

Evan glanced up at the house. He didn’t know why. It wasn’t like he could tell what he was seeing.

“They’re all warning me not to leave. My parents, Zoe...” Connor made a face. “Josh.”

“What’s the deal with you and Josh?” Evan blurted out. He refused to look down when Connor raised his eyebrows at him. 

Connor pushed back against the headrest. “There’s no deal. There’s nothing to tell, really. Josh and I used to be close, now we’re not.”

“You were close?” 

The idea sounded foreign to Evan. Every time the subject came up, Connor shut down or acted skittish. Evan remembered how he had actually hidden from Josh when they went to get the pen. There was obviously more to the story than two cousins growing apart.

“Yeah,” Connor shrugged. “We were close when we were growing up.”

“What happened? Did you have a falling out?”

“Sort of. I don’t know. That sounds more dramatic than it was.”

Evan didn’t bother trying to hide his curiosity. “So, what happened then?”

“You were there that night on the pier, weren’t you?”

Evan tilted his head. “When Zoe and Joey went to get you?”

Connor nodded.

“Yeah, I was there.”

“I was with Josh that night. He left me there.”

“He left you? Like left you-left you?”

“I guess. I don’t remember exactly. He was the one who called Joey. He always called Joey when his friends showed up. He didn’t want me around when they were there.”

Evan recoiled sympathetically. “That’s-”

“It’s just how it was,” Connor interrupted.

“Were you with him a lot?”

Connor smiled slightly. “Kind of. We had a common interest.”

He rolled his eyes when Evan stared at him blankly. “We used to get high together.”

“Oh... And now you don’t?”

“I don’t do that shit anymore.”

“Right,” Evan nodded. “Does Josh?”

“Probably,” Connor shrugged. “He’s the one who introduced me to it.”

Evan let that sink in before speaking again. “Do you miss it?”

Connor looked at him strangely. “I miss being able to shut my brain off for a while. I miss the times when I felt numb. I don’t miss the ones when I wanted to explode.”

“So, what then? You stopped hanging out with Josh when you stopped using?”

“Using?”

“Isn’t that the term?”

“That makes it sound so...” Connor shrugged. “It was weed and alcohol. Nothing hard.”

“Okay,” Evan muttered. “So, you stopped hanging out with Josh when you stopped-”

“Before that. We stopped hanging out before that. I went to a concert at his school and... It was bad. I... I don’t like to think about it. Joey was pissed when he came to get me. I’d never seen him that mad before. He actually pulled over to yell at me. We got into this screaming, shoving fight in the middle of the highway. We almost got hit by a truck. Zoe had to jump in and separate us.”

Evan’s brow furrowed at that. Neither of the twins had ever mentioned that night to him.

“Joey told me to stop hanging out with Josh.”

“So, you-”

Connor shook his head. “Joey ended up going to Josh’s parents when I didn’t listen. He went to them because he didn’t want to get me in trouble. They didn’t listen either though. Josh’s parents have always thought he’s a freaking saint. So, when that didn’t work, Joey went to our parents. That did the trick. The four of them got together and decided it would be best if we stayed away from each other.”

“And you did?”

“And we did,” Connor confirmed. “Once I got clean, I realized Joey was right. No good comes from being around Josh. He’s... He does the dumbest things.”

“Like stealing pens and selling them online?”

“And joining a gambling club and sleeping with the sheriff’s wife.” Connor shuddered at the thought. “He actually was seeing her, you know.”

Evan wrinkled his nose and nodded.

“And so was Uncle Kevin.” Connor laughed when he saw Evan’s expression. “My family is so fucked up it isn’t even funny.”

“And Joey...” Evan didn’t want to finish that thought. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea that Joey might have been having an affair with Amy Henderson.

“Joey knew,” Connor nodded. “Joey always seemed to know what was going on.”

Connor squinted at Evan curiously. “You thought Joey was with Mrs. Henderson?”

“What?” Evan spat. “No... I...”

“Come on, you knew him better than that,” Connor snorted. “Joey had better taste than that.”

Evan nodded dazedly. “I thought he did, but... Sophie Ventura. He-”

“Sophie isn’t nearly as bad as...”

“Yeah,” Evan agreed. He glanced at Connor out of the corner of his eye. “Does Josh’s dad still think he’s a saint now that he knows they, uh...”

“Were sleeping with the same woman? I don’t know. Probably. Kelsey seems to think he does.”

“That’s just...” Evan grimaced.

“Zoe thinks that Lifetime’s going to end up making a movie about our family.”

“Do you think Josh will try to audition for the part of himself?”

Connor looked up in alarm. “Oh my God...”

“You want to bet on it?” Evan grinned.

Connor shook his head firmly. “I’m not ending my winning streak with a Josh-related bet.”

 

Jared was exactly twenty hours older than Evan. It was something he had taken great pride in for as long as Evan could remember.

He was twenty hours older, twenty hours wiser, twenty hours better.

Evan had never understood how someone could be twenty hours better, but Jared insisted it was true.

The fact that their birthdays were a day apart had caused their families to throw a number of joint birthday parties over the years. That tradition had sort of died out when they reached middle school and Evan made it clear that he didn’t want to keep it going.

The parties became less frequent after that, but they didn’t stop completely. The last one had been when they were in tenth grade. Evan’s mother had insisted on having it because she was determined to help him be more social. 

Evan hadn’t done anything for his seventeenth birthday. Joey’s death had still felt fresh then. The thought of celebrating had been so unappealing to him that he’d stayed in and...

He hadn’t moped. He had...

Okay, so maybe he had moped around the house all day. That was his right. It had been his birthday after all.

He hadn’t planned to do anything special for his eighteenth birthday either. Not that it mattered. Jared’s birthday fell on a Saturday, so he decided to claim the whole weekend for himself.

At least, he didn’t want a party. Evan was glad to hear that. Jared also said he was refusing to let Henry tag along with them. That was a relief too.

Evan wasn’t surprised that Zoe was already at Jared’s house when he got there. He didn’t know what was going on between Jared and Zoe, he wasn’t even sure if there was something going on, but he wasn’t surprised that Jared had recruited her for his birthday weekend. 

He was surprised that Connor was there too though. He was surprised until Jared announced their first stop.

“Paintball,” Jared grinned.

Evan could feel his face drop. “No.”

“My birthday, my choice,” Jared smirked. He gestured at Evan and Zoe. “You two against us.”

And suddenly it became clear why Connor had been invited. Jared was obviously under the assumption that Connor would be an asset in a paintball war.

 

Jared’s instincts were on point. He’d clearly underestimated Zoe though. She held her own against the two of them. 

Evan would have been out almost immediately if they were playing traditionally. Jared declared that they would keep playing for the whole hour and the winning team was the one that got the most hits.

Jared and Connor won. That wasn’t a surprise. Thanks to Zoe, it was a closer game than Jared would have liked. That didn’t stop Jared from gloating though.

“You know he’s going to be impossible for the rest of the night, right?” Evan whispered to Zoe. He shook his head as he watched Jared and Connor go up to claim their prize, a plastic trophy that looked like it came out of a vending machine.

“I know,” Zoe grinned. She reached into purse and pulled out a pack of wipes. “You still have paint on your neck.”

Evan blinked as she reached over and dabbed at the spot. “Thanks.”

Zoe’s smile wavered when her eyes landed on something behind Evan. She quickly dropped her hand and tossed the wipe in the trash.

“You guys ready?” Zoe asked brightly.

Evan’s eyes widened when he saw her expression. She looked...

Apologetic? Guilty? Something along those lines?

Evan frowned as he turned to look at Jared and Connor. They were staring at Zoe like they’d caught her doing... Evan wasn’t sure what exactly. He scratched at his neck self-consciously.

“Yeah,” Jared said stiffly. “Let’s go eat.”

 

Evan’s phone buzzed as soon as they got in the car. His stomach did a flip when he saw the text from his mother. Apparently, she hadn’t been kidding when she’d said she could give him more jobs now that he was turning eighteen.

He leaned forward to tap Connor’s shoulder. “Hey, can you drop me off at The Sink?”

Jared snorted and looked at Evan like he’d just announced that he was going to Mars. “The Sink? Is there something you would like to share with the class, Evan?”

Evan rolled his eyes. 

The Sink wasn’t a gay club. It was an everything club. Everything but the kitchen sink. It had started out as a project put together by a group of triplets who couldn’t agree on a theme. So, they each decided to take a floor of the club and make it their own. Somehow it had eventually morphed into the most inclusive, anything goes club in Saturn.

“My mom wants to me to take over for her,” Evan explained. “She’s been tailing a guy all night, but she has to leave now.”

“I’ve always wanted to go to The Sink,” Jared said thoughtfully. He defiantly folded his arms across his chest. “What? I want to know if they have a real monkey in the Jungle Room.”

“They don’t,” Connor said.

Jared gasped at that. “You’ve been to The Sink?”

“Yeah,” Connor shrugged.

Jared pouted and slumped down in his seat. His eyes lit up as he turned to face Evan again. “Don’t you have to be eighteen to get in?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded.

“You don’t turn eighteen for another...” Jared smirked at the clock. “Two hours and twenty-seven minutes. They won’t let you in.”

“My mom knows the bouncer,” Evan said. “She helped him with a stalker issue last year. He said he’ll look at it this way – I’m officially eighteen in some parts of the world.”

Jared wrinkled his nose disappointedly. He bolted up as a thought popped into his head. He leaned forward to get Connor’s attention. “Do they really serve alligator burgers at The Sink?” 

Zoe stared at him in horror. “You want to eat an alligator burger?”

“What? No?” Jared shook his head. “I’m just curious. They do have food there, don’t they?”

“They have food,” Connor confirmed.

“Okay.” Jared rubbed his hands together excitedly. “So, change of plans...”

 

His mother was gone by the time they got there. She said she couldn’t wait. Maggie was having an emergency of some kind and she had to go deal with that.

She sent Evan a picture of the target, though that wasn’t really necessary. He’d done most of the research for this case. He knew the guy’s name (Jackson Tilney) and profession (dentist). He knew he was engaged to a woman named Caitlin. He knew that Caitlin’s parents were the ones paying for the background check.

They were convinced that he was hiding something, that he was only marrying their daughter for her trust fund. 

He knew they were convinced that he was gay.

The fact that he’d gone to The Sink every night that week was a bit suspicious, Evan had to admit, but it didn’t necessarily prove anything. He knew that his mother hadn’t caught Jackson doing anything that would confirm his fiancée’s parents’ suspicions. 

He kind of hoped that he wouldn’t catch Jackson doing anything either. Jackson was built. He looked like the kind of dentist that could pull people’s teeth out with his bare hands. Evan definitely did not want to be the one to make him angry.

 

They found Jackson in the Jungle Room. He was moshing with a group of his friends. Evan sat down at a table that was close enough for him to watch, but not so close that he had to worry about Jackson noticing him.

Connor sat down across from him while Jared dragged a semi-reluctant Zoe onto the dance floor.

Evan stared at them for a moment before glancing at Jackson again.

“Does that bother you?” Connor wondered.

It took Evan a second to grasp his meaning. “Jared and Zoe?”

Connor nodded.

“Not really. It’s, uh, it’s weird, but... I don’t even know if something’s actually, you know, happening there.”

Connor stared at his hands as he pushed his straw wrapper around.

“There is?” Evan finally asked.

Connor shrugged. “I don’t know. Zoe and I don’t talk about her love life.”

“Right,” Evan nodded quickly. “She didn’t talk to Joey about it either.”

Evan bit his lip when he saw Connor’s expression. “What?”

“You were Joey’s best friend.”

“I know.”

“And you were dating his twin sister. You don’t think they talked about that?”

Evan didn’t know what to say. He scratched his neck as he watched Jackson spin around and laugh with one of his friends. “Zoe said they didn’t.”

“Maybe not extensively, but even I knew they talked about it sometimes.”

“Oh,” Evan muttered. He sat up straight when he saw that Jackson was leaving the floor with another guy.

A guy who had his arm draped around Jackson’s shoulders. Evan felt like he was going to vomit. He really, really did not want to get beaten up on his birthday eve.

“He’s on the move.” He blinked as he realized he didn’t have his camera. His good camera. He’d have to make do with his phone if it came to that.

He climbed off the stool and hurried after them. He wanted to keep his distance, but they were moving quickly and the club was so crowded that it was hard for him to keep an eye on them.

“They’re heading for the stairs,” Connor hissed.

Evan nodded gratefully. He ran up the stairs and looked around. This must be the Shadow Room, the room that was all dark except for a bunch of mini-spotlights that randomly rotated around the place.

Evan swallowed sharply as his eyes adjusted to the dark. He could see why he’d heard that this was the room people came to when they wanted to be alone. It was quiet up there. He could barely hear the music pounding away below. 

“Did you see which way they went?” Evan whispered. He tried to keep his voice as low as possible. He could see that there were people nearby – shadowy people, the room really was aptly named – but he couldn’t see their faces. He couldn’t even tell if they were men or women.

Connor shook his head. 

Evan fought back a sigh. He squinted around the room. There were partitions set up all over the place. It gave the room a kind of back-alley feel. 

Evan crept forward cautiously. He blinked as he tried to find Jackson and his friend.

The room wasn’t nearly as crowded once they made it past the bar. There were only a small handful of couples making out ferociously against the partitions. 

Evan froze when he realized that Jackson and his friend were on the other side of the partition to his left. He tried not to gasp. He edged forward just enough to confirm that he had actually recognized Jackson’s voice.

“I told you,” Jackson murmured. 

“You were right,” the friend muttered. “Someone is following you.”

“This has to stop. It’s getting ridiculous. I’m not doing anything wrong!”

“What do you want to do?”

Evan blinked as they put their heads together. He couldn’t hear what they were saying until they started counting. He glanced over his shoulder at Connor. He knew they couldn’t get away fast enough. They were surrounded by partitions and dead ends and...

He really didn’t want to get caught. He’d only been caught once. It had happened over the summer. A cheating girlfriend had caught him when she was leaving the guy’s house. She’d hit him with a bouquet of flowers and screamed hysterically until he finally managed to duck around her.

It had not been one of his proudest moments. And, to top it all off, he’d discovered that he was allergic to something in the bouquet. He’d spent the rest of the day sneezing like crazy.

Evan acted on instinct. He did the only thing he could think of in that moment. 

They had to blend in. They had to look like they belonged up there. 

And that meant...

He pushed Connor against the partition and kissed him.

It wasn’t a neat kiss. He knew he’d caught Connor off-guard. It took Connor several seconds to react. Which was probably fair. More than fair, really.

He didn’t know what to do with his hands. He kept moving them and repositioning them and... It felt almost too personal to touch Connor, which was weird since their mouths were locked together and...

It wasn’t a bad kiss once they got going. It was good. Evan thought it was good. Or, rather, he would’ve thought it was good if he’d been capable of coherent thoughts. His heart was beating wildly and his mind was dangerously, wonderfully blank and...

He finally pulled himself away when it occurred to him that he needed to breathe. He frowned as he caught his breath. He blinked around at his surroundings. He hadn’t seen or heard anyone go by them. Granted, he had been a bit preoccupied, but still... He thought he would’ve noticed people walking right by them. He peered around the partition and squeezed his eyes shut. 

Jackson and his friend were gone. They must’ve snuck out the other way.

Connor was gaping at him when he turned around again. “What...”

Evan swallowed anxiously. “Sorry...”

“Sorry?” Connor laughed.

“I didn’t want to get caught,” Evan said weakly. “I, uh, I thought they were coming this way and...”

He stepped around the partition and scanned the room. He couldn’t make out any figures that looked like Jackson or his friend. Of course, it was so shadowy up there that it was hard to tell what he was seeing.

“We lost them,” Evan sighed. He shook his head sadly. “Let’s go back downstairs.”

 

They didn’t say anything as they went back to the Jungle Room. Evan didn’t know what to say. He had a feeling Connor didn’t either.

Connor hadn’t hit him or threatened him though, so he supposed that was something.

Of course, there was a very real chance that Connor was still in shock.

Evan knew he was still processing what had happened and he’d been the instigator. 

This was why he shouldn’t act impulsively. He did things like this. Stupid, nonsensible things that really didn’t make sense when he looked back on them.

Stupid, nonsensible things that he kind of...

He closed his eyes and pushed that thought out of his head. He couldn’t think about that. He couldn’t think about any of it. He had a job to do, a dentist to find.

He froze at the bottom of the stairs and gawked at the bar.

A dentist who was now talking to Geoff Heffelfinger. Evan felt dizzy when Geoff looked up and waved him over.

Connor started to follow him, but Zoe caught up with them before they reached the bar.

“Hey,” Zoe said breathlessly. “Call Mom.”

“Why?” Connor frowned. He shook his head when their eyes met. “Sobriety check?”

“Sobriety check,” Zoe confirmed.

Evan thought about asking Zoe to go with him to see Geoff and Jackson, but she ran back to the dance floor before he could decide if that would be weird.

Geoff smiled at him as he perched on the stool next to him. “I was wondering why I hadn’t seen your mother here tonight.”

“This is the other detective who’s been following me?” Jackson laughed as he looked Evan up and down. “Aren’t you a little young to be doing this?”

“He’ll be eighteen tomorrow,” Geoff said.

Evan did a double take at that. He wanted to ask Geoff how he knew about his birthday, but Geoff seemed to have realized his mistake and continued on before Evan had a chance.

“Jackson here was just telling me the story behind his upcoming marriage.”

Jackson nodded slowly. “Her parents are partially right. We aren’t really... We’re friends, best friends.” Jackson smiled wryly. “But I’m not gay. She is.”

Evan tilted his head uncertainly. “Okay?”

“We’re getting married because her grandmother left her a trust fund that she can’t access until she gets married.”

“To a man?” Evan guessed.

“The will specified that.” Jackson shook his head. “I keep telling her she should talk to her parents. They’re more understanding than her grandmother was.”

“I’m going to tell them the case is closed,” Geoff said. “I’ll tell them I didn’t find anything troubling. I’m sure Heidi will do the same.”

Evan nodded immediately.

“Do you think there are others though?” Jackson asked. “Besides that guy?”

Geoff grinned at Evan. “Jackson caught Nate Phillips taking pictures of him upstairs. He almost threw him down the stairs. Nate spotted me leaving the Shadow Room when he was on his way out. That’s how I got busted.”

Jackson let out a low whistle. “Three detectives... I knew Cait’s parents were protective, but this is a bit much, even for them.”

“I haven’t seen anyone else here,” Geoff told him. “That doesn’t mean there won’t be others, but I think you’re in the clear for now.”

Jackson nodded gratefully. “Thanks. I better get back to my brother.”

“Brother?” Evan laughed.

“Like I said,” Jackson smirked. “I’m not gay.”

Evan slid off his stool when Jackson was gone. “I should...”

He scanned the room for his friends. Zoe and Jared were still dancing. He wondered where they got their energy from. If they’d been moving like that the whole time, he didn’t know how they were still standing. 

He didn’t see Connor anywhere. He scanned the room again. His heart felt heavy in his chest and he didn’t know why. He reached for his phone to...

To what? Call Connor? Text him? Ask where he was? 

“Your friend ducked outside a minute ago,” Geoff informed him.

Evan’s head shot up so fast he thought he felt something snap. “What?”

“Your friend, the one who went upstairs with you. He went outside a minute ago.”

Evan’s heart did a flip. Had Geoff seen them upstairs? Had he seen them kissing?

“Please don’t tell my mom,” Evan blurted out.

He wanted to cringe when he heard his request. He didn’t know why he’d said that. He didn’t think it would bother her. He didn’t even think Geoff would say anything. He just... 

He looked up cautiously when he sensed Geoff standing up too.

“Tell her what?” Geoff winked. He reached into his pocket as his phone started to ring. 

Evan took that as his cue to go. He shook his head to clear it. Geoff had winked at him. He’d actually winked. That meant he’d seen something, didn’t it?

Evan didn’t want to think about that either.

He found a table by the dance floor and rested his head on top of his arms. He stared blankly at Zoe and Jared as they laughed and spun around like a couple of kids.

Zoe motioned for him to join them, but he pretended not to see. 

Because that was what adults did, wasn’t it? They ignored the things they didn’t want to deal with until the things went away or got so bad that they had no choice but to deal with them. 

Evan kind of thought he liked that way of thinking.


	26. Chapter 26

Evan slept better than he’d expected. He actually slept really well, which was a surprise since he’d fully expected to spend the night tossing and turning and regretting every decision he had ever made.

He must have been tired. That was the only explanation. The paintball war had been exhausting, so had the adrenaline rush he got from following Jackson Tilney. And then there was the whole Connor thing...

Evan’s mind went straight to that as soon as he opened his eyes. He blinked at the ceiling until he decided that he had to approach this rationally. He had to stop letting himself drown in a sea of swirling thoughts.

He stared at the ceiling and breathed and attempted to sort through his feelings

Connor was his friend. He liked that. He didn’t want to lose that. He didn’t want to lose another friend.

He’d liked kissing Connor. That had been a surprise, but not as surprising as it could have been. He’d kind of suspected that he was bi for a while. It had been purely theoretical until now, but it had been there. It had definitely been there, somewhere in the back of his brain.

He liked Connor. Plain and simple, he liked Connor. The more he thought about it, the clearer it got. He liked talking to him. He liked being around him. He missed him when he wasn’t there. 

He missed him when he wasn’t there? 

He did. He really did. When did that happen?

What was he going to do about this? Could he do anything about it? Did he even want to?

Connor was Zoe’s brother. His ex’s brother. Connor had been Joey’s brother too. His dead best friend’s brother. Evan wondered who would end up playing him in the Lifetime movie about the Murphy family. Probably some unknown actor with a resting scared face.

He wondered how Zoe would feel if she knew that he had kissed her brother. She’d probably feel as weird as he did whenever he thought about her kissing Jared. Which, well... That idea suddenly didn’t seem as weird as it had the day before.

He knew Joey would laugh. Not in a mean way, just... He’d laugh and say that Evan better not have a thing for him too. Evan would have blushed and stammered and assured him that he didn’t. And it would’ve been the truth. 

Joey had meant a lot to him. He’d been his first real friend. His death had hit Evan hard. Really hard. He’d never thought of Joey as more than a friend though. The thought of that, the thought of kissing him and... It made Evan squirm uncomfortably. It felt wrong on so many levels.

Evan took a breath. It didn’t matter what Zoe or anyone else thought. Not really anyway. It just mattered what he thought and what Connor thought and that...

That made his swallow sharply. What did Connor think? He had no idea.

Connor thought he was demi. He thought he could only be attracted to someone if he had a strong emotional attachment to them. 

Evan didn’t think he qualified for that. He couldn’t imagine that he qualified for that. 

He thought about what Zoe had said about Connor not having friends before Evan. He thought about what Connor had said about being a late bloomer. About not being a late bloomer. About...

If that had been Connor’s first kiss, if Connor really was demi, if Evan had forced him into a situation that he wasn’t comfortable with, then Jared was right.

Evan really was an asshole.

 

Chocolate couldn’t make everything better. Evan knew that, but he also knew that it helped. 

His mother’s chocolate chip pancakes definitely helped. She only made them for special occasions. His birthday was always one of them.

“When did we get tree-shaped cookie cutters?” Evan asked as he eyed the stack in front of him.

“Connor got them for us,” Heidi said. She gestured at the stove. “I told him about this and he went out and...”

Evan didn’t need a mirror to know that his face was betraying him. He dropped his gaze immediately.

“You two are pretty close now, aren’t you?”

Evan’s heart felt like it was going to explode in his chest. Every instinct in his body was screaming for him to run away or, since that didn’t seem possible just then, to divert her attention.

“I’m glad. I know things have been rough since Joey-”

“Are you dating Geoff Heffelfinger?”

Evan felt like cursing when he realized what she’d said. This wasn’t a kissing thing. This was a Joey thing. She was just glad that her freaky, friendless son had found a new friend.

Her eyes widened as she stared at him. “I don’t know if I’d call it dating.”

Evan could feel his face betraying him again. He scratched at his neck as his cheeks heated up.

Heidi laughed and turned back to the stove. “You really are an adult now, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean?” Evan frowned.

“If that’s the first place your mind went...”

Evan didn’t think it was possible for his face to get redder, but his body seemed determined to test that theory. “I think that just makes me a normal teenage boy.”

“Probably,” Heidi grinned. “I guess I’m just lucky that I’ve been spared from it until now.”

Evan poked at his plate. “So, are you seeing him?”

He cautiously looked up. Her expression wasn’t giving anything away. 

He didn’t know why he was so curious. He wanted to know what he was dealing with, he supposed. He wanted to know how likely it was that Geoff would get in touch with his mother and tell her what he’d seen.

“Not officially,” Heidi finally said. “We’ve just been working together a lot lately.”

“On what?” Evan asked. 

She didn’t have to say anything. This time, her expression gave her away.

“He’s been helping you with the Joey case?”

Heidi nodded slightly. 

Evan stared at his plate while that sank in. “But you aren’t...”

“We’re not?”

“Together?”

“We...” Heidi smiled and shook her head. “We’ve made plans to go out when the case is closed.”

“Oh,” Evan muttered. 

“Just for drinks or coffee, maybe,” Heidi said quickly. 

“He seems nice,” Evan shrugged. He picked at his food when his mother raised her eyebrows at him. “I ran into him at the club last night.”

He glanced up tentatively. He looked for a spark of recognition, something that suggested Geoff had talked to her already.

Nothing. Maybe Geoff really was a man of his word.

Or it was just so early that he hadn’t had a chance to contact her yet.

He hoped it was the former. It wasn’t that he didn’t want his mother to know. Or, well, it was, but not because he thought she’d disapprove. He just wanted to keep this to himself until he knew exactly what it was. 

“And you talked to him?”

Evan bit back a smile. She sounded anxious, nervous that her son had said something to embarrass her.

“For a minute,” Evan said. “Jackson Tilney caught him.”

“He was working the Tilney case too?”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded. “We’re dropping it, by the way. Jackson’s not gay. His fiancée is. She’s marrying him because it’s the only way to access the trust fund her grandmother left her.”

“I was wondering...” Heidi sighed. “Okay, well, consider it dropped. I’ll call the parents later today.”

Heidi turned off the stove and stacked the last few pancakes onto a plate. “Do you have any plans for your birthday?”

Evan shook his head. “I might not even get dressed.”

“You’ll have to get dressed for dinner,” Heidi reminded him. “The Kleinmans invited us over.”

Evan resisted the urge to make a face as he finally dug into his food.

 

Evan winced when he heard his name being shouted from across the room. He braced himself as Henry charged over to embrace him.

“I’m Team Evan, just so you know,” Henry beamed as he clapped Evan on the back.

“You’re what?” Evan chuckled awkwardly.

“Team Evan,” Henry repeated. “This whole thing with you and Jared... He’s in the wrong. You do not, under any circumstances, make a play for your bro’s ex.”

“Oh my God,” Jared moaned as he popped up behind his brother. “Can you not?”

“Have I taught you nothing?” Henry demanded.

“Nothing,” Jared said swiftly. “You’ve literally taught me nothing at all.”

Henry waved his arms dramatically. “You never go out with your friend’s ex-girlfriend. Not unless you have explicit permission from said friend.”

Jared’s mouth opened and closed several times as he looked from Henry to Evan and back again. “You’re seriously telling me you follow that rule?”

“Of course, I do,” Henry retorted.

“Always? What about Betty Martinez?”

“She barely even went out with Max!”

“And Georgia Porter?”

“Tyson said he was cool with it.”

“And what about Sophie? I’m sure at least half of your friends went out with her at some point.”

Henry narrowed his eyes. “Are you calling my fiancée a slut?”

Jared looked to Evan for support. “Did you hear me say the word slut? Because I didn’t say the word slut.”

“This isn’t about me or Sophie,” Henry said harshly. “This is about Evan and Evan’s ex and-”

Jared threw an arm up to stop him. “Stop, okay? Just stop.”

He grabbed Evan’s arm and started pulling him towards the stairs. “I need to talk to you.”

He paused long enough to glare at Henry. “Don’t follow us.”

Jared didn’t say another word until they reached his room. He shut the door and locked it for good measure.

Evan glanced at him quizzically. 

“Okay,” Jared sighed. He laughed to himself. “Okay, so, nothing’s actually happened with Zoe.”

“Okay,” Evan nodded.

“It might though.”

“It might?”

“Maybe?” Jared said uncertainly. “I don’t know. Henry’s just... I made the mistake of telling him that I like her.”

“You like her?”

“Can you not repeat everything I say?” Jared snapped. He ran a hand through his hair and sat down on his bed. “Sorry. Here I am, talking about going out with your ex and...”

“It’s fine,” Evan said softly. “I’m just, uh, you know, trying to process this.”

“Yeah, me too,” Jared huffed.

Evan glanced at him curiously. “Why did you tell Henry you like her?”

“He could tell,” Jared laughed. “Apparently my voice sounds different when she calls. Henry wouldn’t stop teasing me about it and...” Jared shrugged. “It’s not like I have anyone else to talk to about this.”

Evan stared at his feet. “Have you told her?”

“Are you kidding?” Jared scoffed. “I don’t even know if she... I mean, why would she?”

“She liked me,” Evan said lightly. 

“So, you’re saying I have a chance? She’s not picky?” Jared hugged his pillow and leaned back against the wall. “You’re taking this better than I expected.”

“What did you expect? Did you think I’d try to beat you up?”

“Try being the key word,” Jared grinned. “Because we both know you wouldn’t succeed.”

“I don’t know about that. My mom made me take self-defense classes before I started working for her.”

“Ooh,” Jared sneered. “I better watch myself then.”

Evan looked down as he fidgeted with his sleeves. “I kind of already knew, you know.”

Jared didn’t say anything for a second. “The Candy-gram?”

“The Candy-gram.”

“So, that means Connor knows too?”

“I don’t know,” Evan shrugged. “Probably.”

“You guys haven’t talked about it?”

“Strangely enough, we have not.”

“I thought you talked about everything.”

Evan wrinkled his nose. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” Jared said quickly. 

Evan decided not to press the issue. “It’s fine with me, by the way.”

“What?”

“You and Zoe. I’m okay with it.”

“I wasn’t asking your permission.”

“I know,” Evan nodded. “She’s the only one you need to get permission from.”

“I don’t know if I’ll ever ask her,” Jared admitted. He laughed at his word choice. “Not that I’ll force her or, um...”

“I know what you mean,” Evan assured him.

Jared dropped his pillow and stood up. “So, has Henry told you about his bachelor parties yet?”

Evan blinked at him in alarm. “Parties? As in more than one?”

Jared rocked back on his heels excitedly. “Wait until you hear about this...”

 

Evan didn’t look up when he felt the bench sink beside him. He kept his eyes on his orange until he heard Zoe clear her throat.

“Why are you eating out here?” Zoe laughed. “It’s freezing.”

It was freezing and Evan’s jacket really wasn’t cutting it. He wasn’t about to admit that though.

“It’s not that bad.”

Zoe’s mouth formed a thin line as she studied him. “I thought we talked about this.”

“About what?” Evan tilted his head at her. He really, truly had no idea what she was talking about.

“Connor.”

Evan tried to keep the panic off his face. “What about him?”

“You two...” Zoe’s expression softened when she saw his face. “You have no idea what you’re doing either.”

Evan blinked as he tried to follow what she was saying. “What?”

“And here I was thinking that at least you have some idea...” Zoe’s voice trailed off as she smiled at him. “The blind leading the blind. This is going to be fun.”

Zoe leaned back against the bench. “I used to try to connect with him by talking about boys, you know.”

“You tried to connect with Connor?”

Zoe nodded. “After he told our parents that he was gay, I thought that was my chance to... I don’t know. To be supportive, to bond with him by looking at guys and commenting about whether or not they were cute. It didn’t work though. I thought it was just him. Because he was always high and didn’t care about me or anything. Anything at all. But that’s actually not the case. He does care. He just...” 

Evan was starting to get the impression that Zoe somehow knew what had happened at The Sink. 

“Did Connor say something to you about, uh, about this weekend?”

Zoe bit her lip and looked down.

“No,” Zoe decided. “I’m not going to meddle.”

Evan narrowed his eyes. “Then what would you call this?”

Zoe wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. “Well, I thought I was coming out here to yell at you for messing with my brother, but I’ve decided that isn’t what’s happening.”

She frowned as she studied him again. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

“I’m not messing with him,” Evan said quickly. “I...”

He didn’t bother finishing that thought. He wasn’t even sure how it ended.

“You should talk to him about what happened,” Zoe said softly.

Evan stared at his hands. Okay, so she definitely knew then. He glanced up to read her expression. She didn’t look upset or disgusted or...

She was smiling. Wistfully, but he’d still call it a smile.

“He won’t talk to me,” Evan muttered. “He ignored me when I tried to say hi this morning.”

“Keep trying,” Zoe suggested.

“Even if he doesn’t want-”

“He wants to,” Zoe cut in. “Trust me. He wants to.”

“He wants to talk to me?”

Zoe snorted and shook her head. “Yeah. He definitely wants to talk to you.”

 

Evan was starting to think that Zoe didn’t know what she was talking about, at least when it came to Connor. Which actually made a lot of sense. They hadn’t been close before Joey died. They were probably still getting to know each other.

Zoe obviously didn’t know him as well as she thought she did. 

Connor clearly didn’t want to talk to Evan. He was sitting at his desk with his eyes glued to the screen. He hadn’t even looked up once since Evan had gotten there.

The only full sentence he’d uttered was, “I didn’t think you were working today.”

And Evan had tried. He’d been trying for almost an hour. He’d talked about his day. He’d asked Connor if he’d finished his English essay. He’d commented on how it was shaping up to be a really windy March.

He’d resorted to talking about the weather. That had actually happened.

And still nothing.

He finally decided that enough was enough. He stood up and went over to sit across from Connor.

“I’m sorry, okay?” Evan said quietly.

Connor still didn’t look up. “You’re sorry?”

“For, uh, for the other night,” Evan stammered. “I shouldn’t have... You know. I shouldn’t have, um, kissed you like that. I just... I panicked. I didn’t want to get caught and-”

“You said that already.”

“Yeah,” Evan nodded. “I know, but you’re still... You’re mad.”

“I’m not mad.”

“You’re obviously mad.”

Evan bristled as Connor suddenly pushed himself away from his desk.

“I’m not mad!”

Evan nodded and blinked and... Okay, so one goal accomplished. Connor was looking up now. He looked like he wanted to rip Evan’s head off, but that was progress, wasn’t it?

“You’re not mad?” Evan chuckled nervously.

“I’m not mad about that,” Connor clarified.

“Then what are you mad about?”

Connor closed his eyes and reached for his bag. “I’m leaving.”

“What? Why?”

“There’s no point in having two of us here today.”

Evan jumped up to stop him. He gently grabbed Connor’s arm. “Wait. Why are you mad?”

Connor stared at Evan’s hand like it was a snake, like there was a poisonous snake wrapped around his arm.

“I know I shouldn’t have panicked like that,” Evan babbled. “I’d take it back if I could. Really. If someone ever invents a time machine, it’ll... Well, it won’t be my first stop. There are other things I’d want to correct first. A lot of other things. You have no idea how many things. Like, there was this one time in fifth grade where I-”

It took Evan a second to react when Connor kissed him. Which was fair. Definitely fair. He definitely had not been expecting that to happen.

He kissed him back because he wanted to and because that was the polite thing to do. It was only polite to kiss someone back when they were kissing you like that.

He mostly did it because he wanted to though. He smiled into the kiss as he realized that he really, really wanted to.

He couldn’t help laughing when they finally pulled apart. “Was that just so we’d be even or...”

Connor shook his head. “That’s why I’m mad.”

Evan frowned as he leaned against his desk for support. His legs didn’t feel strong enough to keep him up. “Um, okay. I’m not following...”

“I like doing that,” Connor said. He said it like he thought that explained everything. He rolled his eyes when he realized it didn’t. “You’re straight. I like you and you’re straight.”

Evan’s eyes widened with realization. “I’m not straight.”

“You’re not?”

“Do you really think a straight guy would kiss you like that?”

Connor scratched at his neck. “I wouldn’t know.”

“I’m bi,” Evan said quietly. “And, um, in case it isn’t obvious, I liked that too.”

“That or me?”

“Both.”

“Okay,” Connor sighed.

“Okay,” Evan nodded.

And suddenly it was awkward again. A different kind of awkward, but awkward nonetheless.

They didn’t say anything. The room was silent for what felt like an eternity, but Evan suspected was actually under two minutes.

He finally looked up and muttered, “Now what?”

Connor stared at him in disbelief. “You’re asking me? You’re the one who...”

Evan caught his eye and decided they may as well address the elephant in the room. “Dated your sister?”

“I was going to say has experience with these things, but yeah, okay.”

“I never slept with Zoe,” Evan blurted out.

Connor squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “I really didn’t need to know that.”

“I just thought you should...” Evan said quickly. “I mean, I know I’d be wondering if it were the other way around. We, uh, we did stuff, but not that much stuff. We never-”

“Okay, let me try this again. I don’t need to know what you did or did not do with Zoe. I don’t need to know if I kiss like her or-”

“You don’t.” Evan laughed when he saw Connor’s face. “Sorry.”

Connor gaped at him for a moment before laughing too. “Okay, back to your original question. Now what?” 

“Right, okay,” Evan nodded rapidly. “So, we should go out.”

“Was that a question or a demand?”

“I’m not ordering you to-” Evan said shrilly. He stopped himself when he realized that Connor was smirking at him.

“Okay,” Connor grinned. “So, when and what are you thinking?”

“Why do I have to plan this?”

“It was your idea!”

“I came up with the idea, so now it’s your turn to come up with something.”

“Is that how this works?”

Evan shook his head. “Okay, fine. How about, um... Not a movie. Not unless you want Jared to follow us around and tease us all night.”

“I’ll pass.”

“Um, okay, so-”

“Why don’t we just, I don’t know, hang out at your house?”

“That’ll work,” Evan agreed automatically. “Saturday night work for you?”

Connor stared at his feet. “This Saturday? I can’t.”

Evan tried to mask his disappointment. “Oh, okay, um-”

“It’s my family’s St. Patrick’s Day party,” Connor explained. “It’s at Uncle Kevin’s house. I was going to ask you the other night before we, uh...”

“You were?”

“Not like that,” Connor said quickly. “At the time, not like that. I just... Zoe’s bringing Jared and-”

He stopped speaking to gauge Evan’s reaction.

“It’s fine,” Evan assured him. “So, Zoe’s bringing Jared and?”

“And my parents said I could bring a friend, so I was going to see if you wanted to come. My whole family will be there and that’s kind of... You know.”

Evan bit his lip. He did know. He knew it was a lot for Connor to deal with. He also knew that it would be a lot for him. The idea of going to a party at Kevin Murphy’s house filled him with a sense of dread that he didn’t expect to go away until the party was over.

Because he knew he was going to go. He was going to go because Connor wanted him to and because he liked Connor even more than he hated the idea of going.

Which was really saying something, if he did say so himself.


	27. Chapter 27

The problem with having a mother who was a detective was that she was always two steps ahead. That was how it seemed to Evan at least. He always assumed that his mother knew exactly what he was up to and why.

It usually didn’t bother him. 

Much. It didn’t bother him much.

He’d never been the kind of kid who was always getting into trouble. Partially because he knew he wouldn’t get away with it, mostly because he didn’t feel the need to try.

He’d blamed his mother for that once when he was in tenth grade. He’d gotten mad when she wouldn’t stop encouraging him to make friends. He’d reached a point where he couldn’t take her relentless optimism anymore and had snapped that it was her fault he was like this. That it was her fault because no one wanted to get caught with the sheriff’s son. That he couldn’t do anything wrong because he knew it would reflect poorly on her. That he was sick of feeling like one of her suspects.

He knew that hadn’t been fair. He’d actually known it at the time. He’d meant it though. Sort of. He’d meant parts of it. He’d sort of meant parts of it.

Really, he’d just been going for the jugular. 

The house had been quiet for several days after his outburst.

He hadn’t said anything like that to her since that day. He hadn’t even thought it. Not really anyway. 

He felt it from time to time though. He felt it when he thought she knew something he didn’t know, when he thought she knew something he didn’t want her to know.

He felt it when he came home from a stakeout with Connor and she asked, without even looking up from her notes, “So, how’d you make out today?”

Evan froze in the doorway when she said that. He froze and grabbed at his neck, which was a mistake because grabbing his neck drew attention to his neck and he didn’t want to do that. He’d been hoping he’d have a chance to run upstairs and put on a scarf or...

Put on a scarf? What had he been thinking? That was a ridiculous idea. A completely ridiculous idea.

“How’d I make out?” Evan somehow managed to choke out.

His mother finally looked up from her papers. She had a good poker face. Evan had to give her that. She was doing a good job hiding her suspicions, if she even had any suspicions.

“Did you get the shot?” Heidi asked.

Evan breathed in shakily. “Yeah. Got it. We got the shot of him leaving the bank, just like you asked.”

“I’m thinking about ordering Chinese. You want your usual?”

Evan nodded swiftly. “Chinese sounds good.”

He turned to go as she went back to her work. 

He’d made it. He’d done it. She didn’t suspect a thing.

“You know you have that turtleneck in your bottom drawer, the one your grandmother sent you last year.”

Evan’s eyes widened as he spun around to face her again. “What?”

Heidi smiled at her papers. “I was just thinking you might want to wear it to school tomorrow.”

“Why?” Evan yelped. “Why would I want to wear that?”

Even he knew that turtlenecks were not cool. 

Not that he really cared about looking cool, but still... Even he knew better than to wear one to school.

His mother didn’t say anything. 

This was one of her tactics. He knew that. He recognized it. 

Stay silent and see if he’d decide to talk. It usually worked. He hated that it usually worked.

He sat down next to her. She closed her notebook and looked at him expectantly.

“We’re, uh, we’re not doing anything on the clock,” Evan blurted out. He winced when he heard himself. “Not that we’re really doing anything when we’re off the clock either. It’s been three days. That’s it. It’s only been three days.” 

He poked at his neck. “This was new. I don’t even... Does it look that bad?”

“It’s noticeable,” Heidi said. “I can help you with that tomorrow if you want.”

Evan could feel his cheeks heating up as he stared at his hands. “You mean make-up? You want to put something on my neck?”

Heidi tilted her head to study it. “It doesn’t look that bad, actually. It might go down by the morning.”

Evan wrinkled his nose. “That’s it. I’m returning the favor if it...”

His eyes shot open as he looked up at his mother. She was laughing, silently laughing, as she watched him.

“You like him?” Heidi smiled.

“Yeah,” Evan muttered. He pulled himself up to meet her stare. “We’re not, uh, we’re not fooling around or anything when we’re working. In case you were wondering. We’re definitely not going to do that.”

He meant it. He’d told Connor, in no uncertain terms, that that wasn’t happening. His mother wasn’t paying him to make out with Connor. And she definitely wasn’t paying Connor to make out with him.

And there was no way he was ever going to be in a position where he had to tell his mother that he’d missed getting a shot because he’d been too busy kissing Connor to notice that the target had gone by.

“You know Connor’s volunteering every time he goes on a stakeout with you, don’t you?”

Evan’s head flew up at that. “He is?”

“It’s a one-person job. He’s volunteering most of the time actually. I don’t actually need him to come in as often as he does.”

Evan hadn’t known that. He hadn’t known that at all.

No wonder his mother didn’t seem surprised by this.

Evan couldn’t help smiling. He scratched at his neck and smiled.

“So, uh, Chinese?”

Heidi smiled and reached for her phone. “I’ll call it in.”

 

The bruising didn’t look that bad when Evan woke up. He didn’t think it was noticeable. Not really anyway. Only if you tilted your head a certain way. Only if you knew where to look.

That didn’t stop him from pulling up the collar on his polo though. It looked kind of weird that way, but it was much better than wearing a turtleneck.

He felt his stomach drop when he saw that Alana was waiting for him by his locker. If anyone was going to notice his hickey, it would be Alana Beck.

Evan pulled the collar up even higher.

“Hey,” Alana greeted. “Question. Are you busy on Wednesday afternoons?”

Evan’s brow furrowed as he opened his locker. “Sometimes. Why?”

“Ms. Thomas suggested I recruit you for a study group I’m starting.”

“What kind of-”

“For finals,” Alana filled in. “I’m starting study groups for all my classes.”

“Finals aren’t for another two months,” Evan reminded her.

“They’ll be here before we know it. I was helping Ms. Thomas earlier and I accidentally saw some of our classmates’ papers.”

Evan raised his eyebrows at her. Somehow he had a feeling that it hadn’t been an accident at all.

“People really don’t get it,” Alana said quickly. “They need help. As the top two, it’s our responsibility to help them.”

Evan glanced at her curiously. “You know colleges don’t really care about our extracurriculars at this point, don’t you?”

“They look at our final grades. They make sure that we don’t get lazy.”

“Starting another study group won’t-”

“That’s not why I’m doing this,” Alana said shrilly. “I want to help people. I want to...”

She bit her lip and looked down.

“To what?” Evan asked quietly.

Alana sighed and shook her head. “It’s stupid, but I want to be remembered for something other than...”

Evan followed her eyes as she looked around. The hallway was full, but no one was near them. No one was listening or paying attention to what they were saying.

“I do all these things,” Alana continued. “I get good grades. I’m in so many clubs that I can barely keep them all straight. I do all these projects. I’m always... I’m always busy. And people don’t care. They don’t see that. I’m just one person in a sea of overachievers. They don’t know my name. They don’t know anything about me. When they look at me, when they actually look at me, they only see what I look like, they only care about who I’m dating.”

Evan absentmindedly picked at his shirt. He would’ve argued that, but he knew it was true. 

He really knew it was true when a pair of soccer players walked by and cooed Tracy’s name.

“The kissy faces are new,” Alana smiled tightly. “But you see what I mean?”

“It’s because they think you-”

“Stole John’s girlfriend? I know. Trust me, I know.”

Alana tapped her foot as she checked the time. “I have to go. I’m supposed to help Mr. Lemon set up for the freshmen assembly.”

She tightened her hold on her bag and chewed her lip. “Will you think about it at least? I really could use your help.”

Evan shook his head slightly. “You know what? Sure. I’ll, uh, I’ll do it.”

“I’m holding you to that,” Alana beamed. She spun on her heel and set off towards the stairs.

“I’m sure you will,” Evan muttered.

 

Evan had never been to a party with a security checkpoint. He’d never been to a party where he had to show his invitation and two forms of ID. 

He was glad Connor had warned him about that part or he wouldn’t have been let into Kevin Murphy’s house.

It was unnerving walking into the party alone. Thanks to Kelsey, there hadn’t been room in Larry Murphy’s car. He would’ve gone with Jared except Jared was planning to drive himself there when he finished his shift at the movie theater and Evan hadn’t wanted to wait.

He’d thought it would be rude to wait for Jared. Rude in Connor’s mind, that was. 

Evan glanced around nervously. The house was packed with people, some of whom looked vaguely familiar, but he didn’t see anyone he wanted to see.

He was about to give up hope when he finally spotted Zoe standing by the bookcase. He hurried across the room and tapped her arm. “Hey, have you seen-”

He stopped speaking when she turned around.

That wasn’t Zoe. It was Kelsey and she looked like she was about to cry.

Evan let out an awkward laugh and tugged at his sleeves. “Sorry. I thought you were-”

“Zoe?” Kelsey yelped. “Everyone thinks I’m Zoe. Everyone thinks I look like Zoe. I-I should’ve cut my hair.”

Evan barely had time to move out of the way before she ran past him. He shook his head and turned around to see Zoe, the real Zoe, take off after her.

It took him a second to notice that Connor had found him. He quickly made his way to Connor’s side.

“What’d you do?” Connor chuckled. He nodded across the room to the spot where Zoe was trying to calm Kelsey down.

“I-I don’t know,” Evan stammered. “I thought she was-”

“Zoe?” Connor guessed.

“They look alike from the back,” Evan muttered.

“They do,” Connor nodded knowingly. “Kelsey’s a bit sensitive about that this week.”

“I noticed,” Evan huffed. “Is she okay?”

Connor shook his head. “That’s this week’s reason.”

Evan glanced at him quizzically.

Connor looked around quickly before lowering his voice and continuing, “She thinks her mother jumped because she didn’t look like her.”

Evan blinked as he tried to picture Nadine Murphy. “She looked like-”

Connor waved his hand dismissively. “I know, but don’t even think about telling Kelsey that. She’s convinced that the Murphy genes are so strong that her mother didn’t feel like she belonged in their family.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” He narrowed his eyes when he saw Connor’s expression. “I’m not going to tell Kelsey that, but it doesn’t.”

“No, I know,” Connor agreed. “Every week, she comes up with a new reason. My dad didn’t help any when she told us this one last night. He started going on about how people thought he was Uncle Kevin’s twin when they were growing up. He thought he was being funny, telling Kelsey all these stories about the times he helped her dad get out of trouble.”

“It didn’t help?”

“Not even a little bit.”

“How long is she staying with you?”

Connor shrugged. “She’s going to pack up some more of her things before we leave tonight. We, um, we actually moved her into Joey’s room a couple days ago.”

Evan’s heart did a flip when he heard that. “Oh.”

“It makes sense, you know. The room’s just sitting there and Zoe wasn’t complaining, but she’s not used to having to share her room.”

“Right,” Evan nodded. “Makes sense.”

He didn’t know what he’d been expecting. Had he really thought that Joey’s room would stay like that forever, untouched, a shrine to him?

Yes, he had. He really had.

Evan looked away when his eyes suddenly landed on Kevin Murphy. “Does it bother your uncle that she’s moved out?”

“I don’t know,” Connor said. “I think everyone just wants what’s best for Kelsey. She’s more comfortable staying with us right now than she would be staying here, so...” 

Connor smiled wryly. “And my mom’s loving this. Kelsey’s actually letting her fuss all over her. So, it’s kind of working out for all of us.”

Evan glanced around the room again. “Do you know all these people?”

“No,” Connor snorted. “But they know me.”

He rolled his eyes when Evan tilted his head. “There’s one of me and hundreds of them.”

“So, is that why I’m here? You need me to introduce myself to people so they have to introduce themselves to me, thereby allowing you to pretend you knew who they were all along?”

“Well,” Connor said slowly. “We could do that or I could give you a tour of the house.”

“A tour?”

“You aren’t curious? This house has been featured in People magazine.”

“Um,” Evan laughed. “Not really?”

“I was thinking we could start in the basement.”

“The basement?” Evan frowned. “Isn’t the party only-”

Evan could feel his cheeks heating up as the dots finally connected. “Okay, um, sure. Let’s check out the basement.”

 

They only got as far as the billiards room before a legitimate tour infiltrated the basement. Apparently, Connor’s uncle had a wine collection that he liked to show his guests.

Part of Evan was disappointed and part of him was relieved. It wasn’t that he’d thought they would... He couldn’t even finish that thought. It was all so new that there was no way they were ready to do anything beyond leaving hickeys on each other’s necks. 

But still... Disappointment and relief. He was definitely feeling a mixture of those two emotions.

His hand brushed against Connor’s as they made their way back up the stairs. He tried not to think about how that felt. He tried not to think about the fact that he wanted to grab Connor’s hand and hold it. 

He was glad he’d resisted the urge when they reached the top of the stairs and ran right into Jared and Zoe.

Zoe beamed at them and looked so happy that Evan couldn’t help wondering if her happiness really was genuine.

And Jared... 

Evan could practically see the wheels turning in Jared’s brain. He looked away as Jared studied them. He tried to guess if there was something about their body language that suggested what they’d just been doing. He tried to guess if Zoe had said something to Jared.

“So,” Jared smirked. “The basement’s free then?”

Evan’s eyes widened when he noticed that Zoe and Jared were holding hands. Make that holding hands and smiling.

Connor caught Evan’s eye and raised his eyebrows mischievously. Somewhere in the distance, Evan could hear Kevin telling his friends about a vineyard in Naples. Evan bit his lip when he realized that Jared and Zoe couldn’t hear her uncle from where they were standing.

“It’s all yours,” Connor grinned.

 

Evan put a hand on Connor’s chest as they pulled apart again.

“Okay,” Evan breathed. “I’m serious this time. I need to go. My mom’s going to kill me if I’m not home in-”

His eyes bulged when he checked his phone. 

Connor smirked as he leaned forward again. “Since you’re already out past curfew-”

Evan laughed and ducked away. “I’m texting her that I’m on my way.”

“Can’t you wait for-”

Evan shook his head and hit send. “She still has friends at the station. There will be a whole squad of armed police officers knocking down the door if she doesn’t hear from me.”

Connor nodded reluctantly. He stretched his arms above his head as he stood up. Evan tried and failed not to notice the way his shirt rose up.

He thought it was safe to say that they’d gotten through their awkward stage in record time. Physically at least. 

For the most part.

Not totally.

He scratched his neck and stood up too. He smiled as Connor reached for his hand.

“Are you walking me to my car?”

“Isn’t that the gentlemanly thing to do?”

Evan rolled his eyes. “We’re not stopping to make out again. I really do need to leave.”

“I know. I just want to make sure you get out of here safely.”

“You think something’s going to happen to me? This is one of the safest neighborhoods in town.”

Connor shook his head. “There’s been a lot of crime around here lately. Carjackings, robberies. Someone tried to break in here last week. Uncle Kevin caught him behind the garage and knocked him out before the police arrived. Like knocked him out-knocked him out. The guy actually threatened to press charges until Kevin’s lawyers got to him.”

“Oh,” Evan frowned. He glanced around uncertainly.

“Don’t worry,” Connor smirked. “I’ll protect you.”

Evan rolled his eyes again. He opened his mouth to say that he didn’t need protecting, but stopped when he heard an argument unfolding in front of them.

He glanced at Connor as they came to a stop a few feet away from the figures. It took Evan a second to see that Connor’s dad was arguing with his brother. The argument was calm and quiet enough that Evan couldn’t tell exactly what they were saying. He only managed to pick up a few words like ‘evidence’ and ‘arrest’ and ‘again.’

He swallowed sharply when Kevin finally noticed them. The brothers both squared their shoulders and fell silent.

“What’re you doing out here?” Larry asked.

“I was walking Evan to his car,” Connor said. His eyes narrowed like he was daring his father to question that.

“It’s getting late,” Larry said. “We should go find your mother and the girls.”

“But Evan-” Connor started.

“I can walk Evan to his car,” Kevin offered. 

Larry nodded and gestured for Connor to follow him back to the house. Connor squeezed Evan’s hand before falling into step with his father. 

Evan blinked when he realized he’d been left alone with Kevin Murphy. The Kevin Murphy. 

He didn’t know what to say. 

Luckily, Kevin was the kind of person who was used to making awkward chitchat.

“So, forgive me if you’re sick of this question, but I feel like I have to ask every senior I know who’s getting ready to graduate, do you know what you’re doing next year?”

Evan shook his head. “I’ve gotten into a couple schools, but I haven’t decided yet. I’m still waiting to hear about financial aid and scholarships and, uh...”

Kevin nodded understandingly. “You like science, don’t you? I seem to remember Joey mentioning that last year.”

“Yeah,” Evan muttered. 

“We have a few scholarship opportunities at Murphy Tech for students who are interested in-”

“I’m not into computers,” Evan interrupted. He could feel his cheeks turning red when he realized how rude that sounded. “I mean, they’re great and all, but-”

“We have a whole range of programs,” Kevin clarified. “We don’t just work with technology.”

“Oh, right,” Evan mumbled.

“It would be worth your time to look into it. They can be competitive, but I happen to know the guy at the top.”

Evan chuckled awkwardly as Kevin winked at him. “Sure, great. I’ll, uh, I’ll definitely check it out.”

“I’ll give you my card in case you have any questions,” Kevin said brightly. “It’s the least I can do. I know you’ve been a good friend to my niece and nephews.”

“Yeah,” Evan whispered.

“I know you must miss Joey. You were his best friend, weren’t you?”

Evan nodded mutely.

“This year has been hard for all of us. Joey’s death left a hole in our family. It’s been... I’m glad to see that after everything, everything with the, uh, the investigation...”

Evan stared at his feet and willed himself not to trip.

“I know that was a trying time for all of us.”

“It was,” Evan said weakly.

“I mean, the questions and the interrogations and... Did you mother talk to you about all that?”

“Not really,” Evan shrugged.

Kevin studied him for a moment. “Good. That’s good. It would make things harder for you now, wouldn’t it?”

“I guess?”

“I think it would. It’s good to see that despite all that, you’re still around. I’m glad to see you’re still there for Connor and Zoe. Especially Connor. I can tell you’re having a good influence on him.”

Evan glanced up curiously. “I, uh, I don’t know if-”

“Don’t be modest. It’s obvious to everyone who knows him.”

“Okay, uh, thanks?” Evan blinked uncertainly.

Kevin smiled warmly. His head turned from side to side as they reached the street. “Now which one is your car?”

Evan breathed in quickly. He didn’t think he had ever been that relieved to see a car in his life. “It’s over there, so uh-”

“I’ll wait until you drive off,” Kevin said. 

Evan nodded and stammered his thanks. 

It wasn’t until he got in the car that he realized that after all that, Kevin had never given him his card.


	28. Chapter 28

Evan wasn’t surprised to learn that club hopping was yet another thing he could add to his list of activities that he hated doing.

He hadn’t expected to have fun at Henry’s first bachelor party. He’d been dreading it since he’d heard about it. 

He was rapidly regretting his decision not to skip it and they were only on the third club.

“How many clubs are there in Saturn?” Jared muttered as they walked up the ramp to Club Sparkle.

“How should I know?” Evan shrugged.

“Because you spend half your time staking them out.”

“I don’t spend half my time-”

Evan sighed when Jared raised his eyebrows at him. “Enough that I’m calling it a night after this one.”

“You’re going to leave me?”

Evan blinked at how upset Jared sounded about that.

Not just upset. Anxious, nervous, abandoned.

“You can leave too,” Evan reminded him.

“My party’s going to be totally different,” Jared announced. “I’m thinking game night.”

“Video games?”

Jared shook his head and grinned. “More old school than that. I’m thinking Dungeons & Dragons. In the dark. With our router unplugged.”

“You expect Henry’s friends to stick around for that?” Evan laughed.

“No,” Jared scoffed. “That’s the point.” 

“I’m in,” Evan said.

Jared wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “You think Connor would want to come to that?”

Evan’s face went blank as he tried to read Jared’s expression. That just seemed to egg Jared on.

“Notice how I slid that in? Smooth, right? Like it isn’t a big deal that you’re...” Jared paused and tilted his head. “What are you guys exactly? And don’t say nothing. I have eyes.”

“You have eyes?”

“Okay, Zoe has eyes,” Jared mumbled. “But I know something’s going on between you two. I would’ve known even if Zoe hadn’t said something. You were kind of obvious at their uncle’s party.”

Evan hoped the club was dark enough to keep Jared from seeing his face turn red. “We’re...” 

He didn’t know what to say. It wasn’t like they’d sat down and decided to put a label on it. “Together... I guess.”

“You guess? Isn’t that the kind of thing you should know?”

Evan could feel his face turning red. His head was spinning due to the body heat inside the club and the questions about Connor. He absentmindedly checked his phone.

He didn’t know how he’d define his relationship with Connor, but he was starting to think they needed to come up with a list of phone rules.

Number one being that they had to let each other know when they were done texting.

Connor hadn’t said anything in over an hour. He’d gone from answering Evan right away to not responding at all. 

Part of Evan wondered if he’d said something wrong. He scrolled through their texts and breathed in quickly. He didn’t see anything that looked off to him, nothing that explained why Connor had suddenly stopped replying.

Jared was watching him knowingly when he looked up again. “Zoe hasn’t said anything either.”

Evan blinked at that. “What?”

“Connor hasn’t texted you in a while, right?” Jared smirked when he saw Evan’s confusion. “Like I said, I have eyes.”

“Zoe stopped answering too?”

“Yeah,” Jared nodded. “You think something happened to them?”

Evan’s heart sped up as he considered that. “Maybe they went to bed?”

“It isn’t even ten yet!”

“I know, but...” Evan felt the need to flee when he heard Henry calling for them to join his friends at the bar. “I’m going to the bathroom.”

Jared’s eyes widened when he spotted his brother. “Yeah, me too.”

Evan didn’t protest, much as he wanted to. He couldn’t blame Jared for wanting to escape for a couple minutes. 

The bathrooms were on the other side of the club. They had to walk past the bar, around the dance floor, and through a breezeway to get there.

The breezeway was covered with pictures. Evan shook his head as his eyes scanned the photos of drunken clubgoers posing in ways that he suspected they regretted once they’d sobered up. If they even remembered what they’d done. 

He wasn’t the only one looking at the walls. The line for the ladies’ room was so long that it stretched into the breezeway. 

Evan put his head down as they went by what was obviously a group of bachelorettes. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with that. He wasn’t in the mood to convince himself that there was no way they were laughing at him.

They were almost in the clear when one of the girls spun around, squealed Jared’s name, and nearly tackled him to the ground.

“Jared! Oh my God!” Sophie giggled hysterically. “It’s my future brother-in-law! Is Henry here too? Henry!”

Sophie looked around excitedly. Her whole body seemed to wilt when she didn’t see her fiancé. Her face fell even further when she saw Evan.

“Did you see the picture?” Sophie asked in a voice so sad that Evan wondered if she was going to cry. 

She didn’t though. In fact, it was like there was a light switch controlling her emotions because the next words out of her mouth were, “I love this song! Forget the bathroom. Let’s go find my man!”

Evan threw himself against the wall as the girls stampeded past, cheering and whooping and calling for Henry as they wobbled down the hall.

Jared looked even more relieved than Evan when they were gone. He nodded towards the bathrooms. “Okay, on a scale from one to ten, how weird would it be if we hung out in there for the rest of the night?”

Evan didn’t bother responding. His heart started to race as he scanned the wall again. He tried to figure out what Sophie had been gesturing at, but she was so drunk that it was impossible to tell. 

He knew what he was looking for though. He could only think of one thing that would make Sophie deflate like that.

Joey. There was a picture of Joey somewhere on the wall.

His breath caught in his throat when he finally found it. He should’ve seen it right away. It wasn’t like the others. It wasn’t one of the hundreds of candid shots plastered to the wall.

It was a picture of the contestants in the previous year’s karaoke competition.

Evan blinked at the picture until he sensed Jared creep up behind him.

“Joey was in a karaoke contest here?” Jared asked. “Did you know that?”

Evan shook his head numbly. He could add this to the list of things Joey hadn’t bothered to tell him.

“It was Sophie’s idea.”

Evan spun around to see Olivia Ventura leaning against the wall behind them. It took him a second to recognize her. Someone had obviously tried to make her over so that she looked old enough to get into Club Sparkle. 

“Sorry,” Olivia mumbled when she saw the way they were looking at her. “I just... I had to get away for a second. If I hear one more of Sophie’s friends shout that they love this club because it’s so sparkly...”

Olivia wrinkled her nose as she looked over her shoulder. “I’m pretty sure Heather’s into girls. It was her idea to come here. This place is ridiculous. I mean, those girls dancing in cages? That can’t be comfortable.”

“I bet it pays well,” Jared said thoughtfully. “I wonder what the insurance plan’s like.”

Evan glanced at Olivia curiously. “What do you mean it was Sophie’s idea?”

“That Joey enter that contest,” Olivia replied. “Sophie was always telling him that he was more talented than his sister, that he should, like, do his own thing. She thought this was a good place to start.”

Olivia tapped the photo sadly. “She was so disappointed when he came in third. I had to hear about it for weeks. About how Joey would’ve won if he hadn’t gotten distracted before he went on stage.”

Evan started at that. “Do you know what distracted him?”

Olivia bit her lip. “I don’t know. Some guy came up to him and started yelling about his dad and... Sophie can’t remember what he looked like, but now she keeps freaking out and wondering if it was the guy who was... You know.”

“Arrested for killing him?” Evan filled in sharply.

Olivia shrugged. “I guess? I don’t know. That wasn’t all though! Sophie said it got worse after that because Joey’s uncle was here and... I don’t know. There was a whole big thing with the three of them and...”

Olivia stopped speaking when it became clear that Evan had stopped listening. She squared her shoulders and mumbled something about finding a place to read.

Evan’s heart was pounding as he hurried back down the breezeway. He stood up on his toes and looked for the manager’s office. He spotted it on the other side of the bar.

He was vaguely aware of the fact that Jared was right on his heels, that he was asking what was going on, but Evan chose to ignore that. 

The door opened before he even had a chance to knock. He nearly stumbled backwards into Jared.

“Well, look who it is,” Lena smirked as she leaned against the doorframe. 

Evan blinked as he realized that she recognized him. It made sense for him to recognize her. It wasn’t like he’d spoken to that many entertainers in his time.

He couldn’t imagine why she remembered him though. He couldn’t imagine why until she opened her mouth again. 

She looked over her shoulder and grinned, “It’s Connor’s boy.”

 

Evan tried to take comfort in the fact that Jared looked just as confused as he felt. Even more so, he hoped.

He tried not to squirm as he waited for Lena to finish applying her makeup.

“So, you’re the manager here now?” Evan asked conversationally.

“Assistant manager,” Lena corrected. “I only get the office when Dave’s not here.”

“You know Connor?” Jared blurted out.

Evan tried not to laugh. Jared had held that in longer than he’d expected.

Lena put down her eyeliner and turned around to glare at Evan. “You’re not cheating on him with this guy, are you? Because I will tell. Don’t think I won’t.”

“What?” Jared gasped. “No! We’re not... I’m dating Connor’s sister. Zoe. A girl. I’m not-”

Lena looked at Jared and laughed. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen a good, old-fashioned gay panic attack.”

“We’re here for Jared’s brother’s bachelor party,” Evan explained. 

“Hmm,” Lena muttered. She checked her reflection, sighed, and flopped onto the chaise in front of them. “So, what can I do for you gentlemen tonight?”

“Do for us?” Jared squeaked. “Nothing! We-”

Evan elbowed him until he stopped making sputtering sounds. “Do you have a recording of last year’s karaoke contest?”

Lena raised her eyebrows at him. “That’s an odd request... Especially since it’s the second time we’ve gotten it this week.”

Evan’s heart and stomach seemed to be engaging in some kind of gymnastics competition. “Second time? Who-”

Lena tapped her chin and studied him. “I believe you call her Mom.”

 

Evan hung up the phone and leaned against the wall. “She isn’t answering.”

“Okay,” Jared chuckled. “Seriously, what is happening here? I haven’t understood anything for the, oh...” He glanced at his phone and shrugged. “I don’t even know how long it’s been since I understood what was happening.”

“Something happened at the karaoke contest last year.”

“Yeah,” Jared huffed. “Got that. But-”

“My mom has the video because she went to the police and they got a warrant for it and-”

“Since when is Connor friends with strippers?”

Evan shook his head at Jared. He knew he shouldn’t be surprised that that was Jared’s takeaway from all this.

“We met Lena a couple months ago when we were-”

“Working on a case. Yeah, got that. But... Since when is Connor friends with strippers?”

Evan very deliberately glanced at his phone. He didn’t know how to answer that. He hadn’t realized that Connor and Lena had stayed in touch. 

He was really getting sick of the Murphy boys and their secrets.

He supposed he should try to look on the bright side. Lena made it sound like she’d been Connor’s confidant, like they’d talked about things that were bothering him.

Apparently, Evan had been one of those things.

Lena had hugged him when he left her office. She’d hugged him and said she’d been so happy to hear that he was finally going out with Connor.

Finally. She’d used the word finally. 

Evan didn’t know what to make of that.

His phone buzzed. He felt like groaning when he saw the text.

It was from his dad. Just one of his random check-ins. Nothing important.

Nothing from his mother or Connor or anyone who mattered to him at that moment.

“I’m going to go find my mom,” Evan decided. He glanced at Jared to see if he looked disappointed. He didn’t though. In fact, Jared seemed extremely pleased to hear that Evan was leaving.

“I’m going to head out too,” Jared beamed. “I’ll text Henry that we’re going.”

“Do you want to come with me?” Evan asked reluctantly.

He hoped the answer was no. He didn’t actually want company just then, but he felt like he had to ask.

Jared wrinkled his nose and lifted his hands like they were part of a scale. “Do I want to go with you to find your mom or do I want to go home and try to salvage the rest of my night? Hmm...”

Evan shook his keys and turned to go. “See you.”

“Later!” Jared called after him.

Evan didn’t think he was imagining the fact that Jared was cackling as he ran to his car.

 

Evan’s phone rang as soon as he buckled his seatbelt. He almost didn’t answer it because a small voice in the back of his head was wondering if his father had decided to escalate things and call him.

He snatched the phone off the seat when he saw that it was his mother.

“Mom?” Evan answered breathlessly.

He bit his lip while he waited for her to respond. There was so much noise in the background that he didn’t think she’d heard him. He pulled the phone back and stared at it. He wondered if she’d managed to pocket dial him by mistake.

He yelled her name into the phone.

“Evan?”

He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard her. “Yeah. What-”

“Don’t come down here.”

Evan blinked and looked around. “What? Where?”

“The precinct. They won’t let you see him, so there’s no point in coming down here.”

“The...” Evan felt dizzy as he tried to breathe. “What are you talking about?”

“Sheriff McKinnon’s still questioning them. I doubt you’ll be able to see Connor tonight.”

Evan pushed back against his seat. “Questioning... What do you mean? What-”

“You’re at Henry’s bachelor party,” Heidi sighed. “Listen, sweetie... Shit. I have to go.”

“Mom-” Evan started desperately.

“I’ll call you as soon as I know something.”

Evan stared at his phone like it was going to attack him. His fingers shook as he opened his browser. 

This was what he got for canceling his Joey Murphy news alert.

It only took him a second to see that the story was unfolding rapidly.

The sheriff’s department had been given proof that Ricky Donahoe had an alibi. A rock-solid alibi. There was no way he could’ve killed Joey.

He’d admitted that he’d been paid to take the fall. Paid in cash by an anonymous benefactor.

Connor had been brought in for questioning. So had Zoe and their parents.

A video had surfaced of...

Evan’s heart skipped a beat as he watched it. 

They weren’t the focus of the video. Some guy had been filming his girlfriend dancing in the fountain outside the building.

The video had been cropped and edited to magnify them.

Evan couldn’t see Larry Murphy’s face, but he knew what this was. It was a recording of the fight that had taken place outside of Larry’s office two days before Joey was killed.

Evan felt dizzy as he watched it. Larry’s body language made it clear that he was furious. And Joey...

Joey looked terrified. 

The look on Joey’s face would haunt Evan for a while. He was sure of that. He’d never seen Joey look like that. He’d never thought that Joey was capable of reaching that level of panic.

He dropped his phone on the seat and started the car. 

He didn’t care what his mother said. He was going to the precinct.

 

He changed his mind two minutes after leaving Club Sparkle. Then, he changed it again and again and, for good measure, again.

He made it halfway there and back so many times that he lost count. 

He finally decided that enough was enough though. His mother was right. He trusted that she was right. She knew about these things after all.

If she said he couldn’t see Connor, then there was no point in going down there. He hated sitting around the precinct. He hated the way it smelled. He hated the lights and the noises and...

Jared had the right idea. It was time to go home.

Evan could hear Ranger whimpering through the door as he walked across the lawn. That settled it for him. He’d made the right call.

Ranger was obviously in dire need of food.

The house was dark, so it took him a second to notice her. He thought it was Zoe until he remembered that Zoe was downtown.

“Kelsey?” Evan called tentatively.

Kelsey lifted her head off her knees and blinked at him. “I-I didn’t know where else to go.”

“Okay,” Evan said slowly. “Um, you can come in if you-”

Kelsey shook her head. “The video... Have you seen the video?”

“The one of Joey and his father?”

Kelsey let out a squeaking sound and buried her face again.

Evan crept forward cautiously. “Yeah, I, uh, I saw it.”

Kelsey tilted her head to look at him. “Thing is, that isn’t Uncle Larry... That’s my dad.”


	29. Chapter 29

This didn’t count as breaking and entering. 

Evan kept telling himself that as Kelsey struggled with the door. 

Kelsey basically lived here now. She had a key. She knew the alarm code. 

Evan frowned as she finally managed to unlock the door. “Why isn’t the alarm going off?”

Kelsey froze and blinked at him. “What?”

“The alarm. Why isn’t it going off?”

Kelsey bit her lip as she looked at the panel. “I guess I forgot to set it before I left.”

Evan looked around anxiously. He tried to ignore the gnawing feeling in his gut. It was possible that Kelsey had forgotten to set the alarm. It was definitely possible. She’d forgotten to leave the outside lights on. She’d told him that in the car. It was very possible that she’d been in such a hurry that she’d run out the door without setting the alarm.

It was very possible that the news about Ricky Donahoe had left her so shaken that she wasn’t thinking clearly.

She didn’t seem shaken now though. She actually seemed eerily calm. She’d managed to calm herself down after Evan had taken her into his house. He was starting to think that Ranger could be a therapy dog. Petting him had snapped her out of her funk. 

It had helped her start saying things that made sense.

Evan believed that she knew what she was talking about. The man in the video was Kevin Murphy. Kelsey swore she could tell the difference between the back of her father’s head and the back of her uncle’s head.

She also swore that she recognized the shirt the man was wearing. She’d given it to her father for his birthday. He made a point of wearing it every Tuesday because she had complained that he never liked her gifts.

So, he was a warm and cuddly kind of killer.

If he even was a killer. Evan wasn’t sure. He wasn’t even sure if Kelsey’s brain had jumped to that conclusion yet.

Evan followed her up the stairs to Joey’s room.

To her room. It was technically Kelsey’s room now.

He slipped into the room behind her. The furniture was the same. The linens were the same. It still looked like Joey’s room. 

“I haven’t changed much,” Kelsey said softly. “I started cleaning out some of the drawers to make room for my stuff and...”

She wrinkled her nose distastefully. “Boys are gross.”

“We can be,” Evan snorted. 

Kelsey plopped down on the bed. “I don’t know what you think you’re going to find. The police tore this room apart. Your mom tore it apart. Aunt Cynthia put it back together. Don’t you think someone would’ve found something if there was something here to find?”

Evan crossed the room and pulled a screwdriver out of Joey’s dresser. “But none of them know where your cousins hide the things they don't want their parents to find.”

Evan tried not to feel guilty as he climbed onto Joey’s desk chair. He tried not to think of this as an invasion of Joey’s privacy. He tried not to think about the fact that he could’ve saved a lot of people from a lot of trouble if he’d told his mother about Joey’s hiding place when she was in charge of the case.

It hadn’t occurred to him to tell her at the time though. It really hadn’t. It hadn’t even occurred to him that Joey could’ve hidden something that would explain why he’d been killed.

He’d only recently started thinking about the air vents. About how Joey had mentioned that this was the one thing Connor had taught his siblings. That the vents were the only foolproof hiding places in their house.

He unscrewed the vent cover and reached inside. His hand darted around aimlessly for a moment before it finally landed on something.

He sucked in a breath as he pulled out a flash drive.

Kelsey was already on her laptop by the time he climbed down. She held out her hand expectantly.

Evan sat down next to her as she tried to open Joey’s files. They were password-protected. Of course, they were.

“Look in the drawer,” Kelsey said. She gestured at Joey’s nightstand. “There’s a list of passwords in there.”

Evan jumped up to check. He did a double take when he saw what was inside. 

He suddenly knew why Kelsey thought that boys were gross.

He handed her the post-it and sat back down. She studied it for a moment before she started typing. 

A folder popped up immediately. Evan’s eyes widened as he stared at the screen. He glanced at Kelsey and it was like looking in a mirror.

“Dad,” Kelsey muttered. “Joey was...”

Evan nodded numbly. From the looks of it, Joey had been building a case against his uncle.

“Why would he do this?” Evan asked. He didn’t expect an answer. He didn’t expect Kelsey to react until he saw the way she was chewing her lip.

“He came to our house last year,” Kelsey said quietly. “Joey. He came over to talk to my parents about Josh. About Josh and Connor and... He wanted them to help keep Josh away from Connor.”

“And they refused,” Evan filled in.

Kelsey nodded slowly. “Joey was pissed. I saw him when he was leaving and... He kept going on about how Dad is so fake. About how he puts on this act. How everyone thinks he’s this great family man when he’s really...”

Kelsey shrugged. “That’s all he said. It was like he suddenly realized who he was talking to and stopped.”

Evan took the laptop from Kelsey and opened the first file. It was a picture of Kevin Murphy with a woman. They were laughing and talking and...

They were at Club Sparkle. Evan could tell that right away. He glanced at the timestamp. It had been taken the night of the karaoke contest. 

That had been the start. Evan could tell that as he scrolled through the folder. Joey had seen his uncle that night and it had sparked something in him. It had made him do some serious digging.

Evan smiled grimly as he continued to look at the screen. Joey really would’ve loved helping him with his cases. He would’ve been good at it. He would’ve been better at it than Evan.

“Kelsey,” Evan said hoarsely. “If your dad knew about this, do you think he...”

He let his voice trail off intentionally. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

The color was draining from Kelsey’s face. She nodded slightly. “This would’ve ruined him.”

“It would’ve ruined his reputation,” Evan agreed. “For a bit, but his handlers would’ve-”

Kelsey shook her head. “That’s the thing. Financially, it would’ve been a mess. Mom would’ve divorced him and she would’ve gotten... I don’t know how much, but enough that he was doing everything he could to make her stay.”

Evan stared at the screen. Was that enough to make Kevin Murphy kill his nephew? Probably. Evan had seen and heard enough to know the lengths that people would go to in order to protect their money.

He thought about Nadine Murphy’s death. It had been ruled a suicide. No one had questioned that. Multiple witnesses had seen her jump.

Was there a chance she hadn’t jumped of her own accord? Evan didn’t say that. He tried to push the thought out of his head. That was the last thing Kelsey needed to be thinking about just then.

“We have to take this to the police,” Evan decided. 

Kelsey bit her lip anxiously. “They’re bringing my dad in to question him tomorrow.”

Evan blinked at that. “They are?”

Kelsey nodded. “Josh texted me earlier. He said a couple officers showed up, but Dad’s lawyers were there and they arranged for him to go down to the station tomorrow.”

“Did they question him before?”

“I-I don’t think so,” Kelsey said uncertainly. “I don’t know. He never mentioned it if they did.”

“Okay,” Evan sighed. “Okay, I’ll take this to-”

He jumped up when he heard something banging in the distance. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Evan grabbed the stun gun from his bag and ran into the hallway. His heart was pounding as he looked around.

Nothing. There was nothing out there.

He leaned over the railing to look downstairs.

Still nothing.

He ran back to Joey’s room. Kelsey was typing frantically when he returned.

“I’m emailing this to myself,” Kelsey explained. “Just in case.”

She pulled the flash drive out and handed it to him. 

“Okay,” Evan said. “I think you should go home.”

“I am home.”

“To your home, your father’s house,” Evan clarified. “Make sure he doesn’t-”

“Flee the country?” Kelsey laughed. 

Evan studied her expression. “Are you okay with that?”

Kelsey nodded automatically. “Josh is home this weekend. He’ll-”

“Protect you?” Evan snorted.

“He likes me enough that he’d jump in if he thought Dad was going to kill me.” Kelsey chewed her lip and looked down. “I think.”

Kelsey waved her phone in the air. “And, besides, Josh said Dad’s been asleep for hours. He turned in as soon as Josh’s gambling club showed up.”

Kelsey’s shoulder sagged as she stared at the flash drive in Evan’s hand. Evan knew that look. Reality was setting in. She was finally starting to grasp exactly what was happening.

“Maybe he didn’t do it,” Kelsey said hopefully. “There’s a chance, right?”

“There’s always a chance,” Evan agreed. “But, still, we should...”

Kelsey closed her eyes and nodded. 

“Do you need me to drop you off?” Evan offered.

“I can take Zoe’s car,” Kelsey said. She looked so excited about the idea that Evan wondered how Zoe would feel about that. 

He didn’t ask. That was the least of their problems.

He followed her outside and waited until she got into the car. He pulled his phone out to call his mother and tell her he was coming in. It went straight to voicemail. He hung up without leaving a message.

It was raining by the time he drove away from the Murphys’ house. He turned on the wipers and leaned forward to see where he was going.

The streets were dark and the rain was coming down harder and harder. It was a good thing he could find his way to the precinct in his sleep.

He decided to take Butler Road. It was a windy road, one that he usually avoided, but it was the fastest route.

His phone rang as he reached the first bend. He grabbed it from the passenger seat and answered, “Kelsey?”

“Evan!” Kelsey screeched into the phone. “I’m back at the house. I saw my dad’s car on my way out. It was parked down the street. The engine’s cold. He-”

Evan dropped the phone before she finished her thought. 

He dropped it and gasped as his eyes flickered up to the rearview mirror.

His mother was right. He really did need to start paying more attention to his surroundings.

Because there was no excuse for him not to have noticed the fact that Kevin Murphy was sitting behind him.


	30. Chapter 30

Evan didn’t panic. It was like his body wasn’t capable of panicking. Every nerve, every cell, every everything was on edge in a way that made him focus.

He kept one hand on the wheel and dove for his backpack. If he could get the stun gun, he could...

He cursed as the bag was snatched away from him. He pulled himself back up and tried not to hyperventilate. 

That was easier said than done. The panic was finally creeping in.

He looked in the mirror and watched as Kevin opened his bag. 

“Keep driving,” Kevin ordered.

Evan glanced over his shoulder. He squeezed his eyes shut when he saw the look of triumph on Kevin’s face.

“I’ve been looking for this,” Kevin grinned as he waved the flash drive at Evan.

Evan’s stomach dropped as he looked in the mirror again. Kevin was leaning forward. Correction, he was climbing forward.

He was going to...

Evan gripped the steering wheel and tried to focus. He couldn’t let Kevin take over. He couldn’t let Kevin get the stun gun or pull out another weapon. Did he have another weapon? What if he had a gun or a knife or something to strike Evan with? Joey had died from a blow to his head. Anything could be a weapon in Kevin’s hands. 

Evan blinked as he made a decision. Desperate times called for desperate measures. He had to do this. He had to stay in control.

Evan grabbed his seatbelt. He pulled it as tight as he could. He waited until Kevin had one knee up. 

He waited and then he drove the car straight into a tree.

 

His head was pounding. That was the first thing Evan noticed when he regained consciousness. 

His head was pounding and his mouth tasted like blood and his ribs were sore and his arm...

He whimpered as he tried to move his arm.

He’d never had a broken bone before, but he had a feeling that had just changed.

The airbag had deployed, so he knew it could’ve been worse. A lot worse. 

Kevin was proof of that.

Evan breathed in shakily as he eyed the figure sprawled out across his car. The passenger side airbag had deployed too, but it hadn’t done much to help Kevin. Kevin had still flown forward and hit his head on the dashboard.

He was unconscious. 

Evan was relieved to see that. He was unconscious, but still alive. Evan could see him breathing.

That was good. Evan would’ve felt bad if Kevin had died. He would’ve felt guilty.

He would’ve been guilty. He could’ve been found guilty, couldn’t he? He could’ve...

Evan’s whole body shook as he tried to undo his seatbelt. He winced when he moved his left arm.

Broken. Definitely broken.

Or seriously injured. Evan couldn’t be sure.

He tried to grab his backpack, but Kevin had landed on top of it.

The flash drive was on the central console. Evan had to reach under Kevin to get it. He shut his eyes and pulled it out as quickly as he could.

He felt around under his seat until he found his phone. He sighed when he saw that it was still working. 

Evan froze when Kevin stirred. He had to get out of there. He had to move. He had to put as much distance between them as he could manage.

He threw the door open and stumbled out into the rain.

It was pouring. Evan blinked as he tried to get his bearings. He put a hand on the car to steady himself. He wondered if he had a concussion. He tried to remember the symptoms of having a concussion. He grabbed his phone to check.

His phone. 

He called his mom. It went straight to voicemail again. He decided to leave a message this time.

“The bag is full of soup.”

He hung up and looked around. He hoped she got that. He hoped she remembered their latest code. She’d been exhausted when she’d come up with that one. There was a chance she’d been mumbling in her sleep.

He should’ve been clearer. It wasn’t like he had anything to hide. It wasn’t like he was worried that he’d offend Kevin by calling for help.

He grabbed his phone again. He was about to hit the call button when he heard a thrashing sound inside the car.

He had to move. He had to make himself move. He started walking down the road.

He weighed his options. He was still at least three miles away from the precinct. He could walk there, but it would take time. More time than he thought he had.

Or he could hide. He could disappear in the woods and wait for help to arrive. Someone would come looking for him. He kept telling himself that. 

His mom would get his message or Kelsey would call the police or...

He stopped when he heard something that sounded disturbingly like a car door slamming.

He staggered toward the trees. 

Kevin was moving awfully fast for a guy who’d just regained consciousness.

Evan shuddered as he tried to breathe. His arm was throbbing and his head felt fuzzy and he was starting to get the feeling that there was a very real possibility that he was about to die.

He did the only thing he could think to do. He called Jared.

The phone rang repeatedly. Evan blinked and silently begged Jared to pick up. He wondered what time it was. He wondered how long it had been since he’d left Jared in the parking lot outside Club Sparkle. He couldn’t even begin to guess. He’d lost all sense of time.

He hung up and tried again when Jared’s voicemail picked up. This time, Jared answered on the second ring.

Jared groaned something indecipherable before hissing, “This better be an emergency.”

Evan blinked as he looked around. He’d lost Kevin or Kevin had lost him and was lying in wait somewhere. He wasn’t sure which.

“Don’t hang up,” Evan whispered.

“What?” Jared moaned. “I’m sleeping. It’s-”

“Jared!” Evan yelped. He ran a hand through his hair when he realized how loud that had come out. He swallowed sharply and lowered his voice. “I need you to be awake right now, okay?”

There was a pause and a ruffling sound and then Jared spoke again. “What’s going on?”

Evan glanced down and sighed. Jared almost sounded alert now.

“I need you to record this, okay?” 

“Record what?”

“This,” Evan muttered. “Just... Just record everything you hear. Don’t hang up. No matter what.”

Evan carefully put his phone back in his pocket. He hoped the call wouldn’t get dropped. He hoped Jared would do what he said.

Because he needed to know that a recording of this would survive, even if he didn’t. He knew better than to think that recording it himself would be good enough. He knew that wiping his phone would be one of the first things Kevin would do after killing him. 

And he really didn’t get how the whole cloud thing worked. He didn’t know how long it would take for a recording to upload automatically. He wasn’t even sure if it would upload automatically. And, even it happened right away, he knew that Kevin could find a way to get it taken down before anyone even thought to check.

A rustling sound behind Evan made his blood go cold. He threw himself behind a tree and cautiously glanced around. 

Kevin had found him. Evan braced himself when he saw that. His eyes dropped to the object in Kevin’s hand. 

His stun gun. The thought of that being used on him, the thought of it being used while rain was pouring down, made Evan want to shudder.

He didn’t though. He squared his shoulders and looked Kevin in the eye.

“You killed Joey.”

It came out like a question even though it wasn’t one. Evan swallowed dryly and tried to push the fear away. 

He wondered if this was how Joey felt before he died. He wondered if he had time to understand what was about to happen to him.

He hoped not because this part really sucked. 

Kevin ignored his statement. He waved the stun gun and shook his head. “You’re a strange boy, Evan. Is it even legal for you to be carrying a taser like this?”

“You’re asking me what’s legal?” Evan laughed. “You-”

“Where’s the flash drive?”

Evan kept his eyes straight ahead. He resisted the urge to reach for his pocket. “I’m not the only one who knows. Kelsey saw the files too.”

The look on Kevin’s face made Evan regret his words. He really shouldn’t have brought Kelsey into this. 

“I can handle my daughter.”

Evan wasn’t sure if he imagined the squeaking sound that came from his phone, but he decided to make this as clear as he possibly could. 

“Just like you handled your nephew?”

Kevin didn’t say a word as he studied him. He didn’t move forward either. Evan didn’t know what that meant. 

He instinctively took a step back. “My mother won’t give up if something happens to me. She’ll figure it out. She’ll destroy you.”

“She isn’t in a position to destroy anyone.”

Evan’s eyes widened when he saw the way Kevin was smirking. 

He put his good hand on the tree to steady himself. The wind was blowing and the rain was coming down harder by the second. Evan would’ve found it peaceful if he didn’t have a murderer standing in front of him. 

“You saw to that, didn’t you?” Evan asked quietly. His head felt like there was an elephant sitting on it, but he was able to focus enough to process this. “When did you start seeing Amy Henderson? Was it before or after you killed Joey?”

Kevin opted not to speak again. His silence made Evan feel dizzy.

“You started seeing her so that you could control the investigation.” Evan wrinkled his nose. “Was Josh already seeing her then? Because that’s gross. Not as bad as killing your nephew, but still... I’ll side with Josh if he decides to take back your Father of the Year mug.”

Kevin narrowed his eyes. “You’re trying to make me talk.”

Evan refused to react. He was. He was trying to make him talk. Not successfully, but he was trying.

“How long do you think you can keep this up? Do you think your brother will cover for you? He’ll know he’s not the one in that video. You don’t think he’ll say something to the police?”

Kevin advanced on him so quickly that Evan barely had time to throw himself against the tree. He raised the stun gun as he glared down at Evan. “Question is, why are you trying to make me talk?”

Evan shut his eyes like that would protect him. 

He hadn’t gotten enough. He knew that. He hadn’t gotten Kevin to say enough to incriminate him. 

He’d gotten him to say enough that it would make his mother hunt him down though. He’d gotten enough to ensure that she wouldn’t rest until he’d been convicted. 

Assuming Jared had managed to record the conversation, that was.

Part of him wanted to shout for Jared to hang up. He didn’t know exactly what was coming, but he knew it was going to be bad. He didn’t want to make Jared hear it.

He couldn’t bring himself to speak though. He pushed himself back as far as he could manage and struggled to lift his good arm. Not to fight back. He knew better than to try that. Every instinct in his body was screaming for him to try to cover his face though.

He heard the stun gun crackle to life. He bit his lip and waited.

And waited.

He tentatively opened one eye and then the other.

The wind was howling and the rain was pouring and the combination of those sounds had drowned out the footsteps of the police officers that were now surrounding them.

Evan breathed in shakily. His eyes darted around the group. He didn’t recognize them all, but that didn’t matter. It didn’t matter that he didn’t like all of the ones that he did recognize.

They were there. They were finally there.

His eyes landed on Sheriff McKinnon. The sheriff was standing in the middle of the group next to Evan’s mother. 

Evan caught her eye and nodded to show that he was okay. 

And he was. In that moment, he was. He had a feeling that might pass as soon as he was free. 

His mother stepped forward and pointed her gun directly at Kevin. Evan didn’t think he’d ever heard her sound more like a sheriff than when she said, “Drop your weapon and get the hell away from my son.”


	31. Chapter 31

So, the good news was that he didn’t have a brain injury. There was nothing seriously wrong with him. No internal bleeding or bruising. No cracked ribs.

Just some regular bumps and bruises and cuts and scrapes. 

And a broken arm. His arm was definitely broken. That was the bad news, which really wasn’t that bad when he thought about how much worse it could’ve been. 

He still had to stay in the hospital overnight though. The doctors still wanted to keep an eye on him. He would’ve been upset about that if he had the energy to be upset.

He wanted to go home. He just wanted to go home and get in his own bed. He wanted to shower. He wondered how that would work. How did you shower with a cast on your arm? 

He was too tired to try to work that out.

He didn’t get much sleep that night. Between the nightmares and the leftover adrenaline and the nurses’ constant visits, he barely slept at all.

His mother didn’t leave his side. Every time he woke up, she was there. 

He told her to go home. He knew the chair next to his bed wasn’t comfortable. He could tell that even though his head felt like it was swimming in a foggy swamp.

He also told her she should go back to the precinct. He knew they could use her help. He could tell that from the way she grimaced each time her phone went off.

She didn’t listen to him though. She told him to stop worrying, that she was where she needed to be.

 

Jared was sitting on their steps when they finally made it home. Evan squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t have the energy to deal with Jared just then.

His mother looked at him knowingly and told him to wait in the car while she got rid of Jared.

He shook his head and said it was okay. He could handle talking to Jared for a minute or two.

Three at the most.

Several emotions flickered across Jared’s face when he saw them. Relief, concern, relief again, and then finally a smirk so devious that Evan instantly regretted his decision to let Jared stay.

“Okay, so tell the truth,” Jared grinned. “You did this just to get out of your English oral, didn’t you?”

“I-” Evan blinked and laughed and shook his head. “You caught me. I decided to get in a car accident, catch a killer, break my arm, and almost get myself killed, just to, you know, get out of having to recite _Lenore_ to my class.”

“I knew it! But, just so you know, faking a fever usually works too and it’s a lot easier to pull off.”

Evan absentmindedly picked at his shirt. “I’ll, uh, keep that in mind in the future. It’s not like any of it matters this time though. I’m sure I’ll have to make up the test when I go back to school.”

He frowned and looked at his mother. “Today’s Sunday, right?”

Heidi nodded. “Yes, but the doctors think you should stay home this week and rest.”

“Right,” Evan muttered. 

“That’s probably a good idea,” Jared agreed. “Let yourself heal to a point where you don’t look like you smashed your car into a tree.”

Evan tilted his head at Jared. “How did you know I hit a tree?”

He hadn’t been on the phone with Jared when he crashed the car, had he? He didn’t think so. Parts of the night were fuzzy. Parts of his brain felt fuzzy.

He really hoped the doctors had run all the tests and scans they were supposed to run.

Jared pulled himself back to study Evan. “Everyone knows.”

Evan blinked as Jared recoiled. He blinked and looked around to see what had made Jared recoil like that.

His mother was narrowing her eyes at Jared and mouthing something that Evan couldn’t understand.

Heidi shut her eyes and breathed in when she realized that Evan had noticed her. “We hadn’t gotten around to discussing that yet.”

Evan looked between the two of them. “Everyone knows? You mean-”

“Let’s just say, I think you can forget about your recitation if you want to,” Jared grinned. “I have a feeling all your teachers are going to be cutting you some serious slack for the rest of the year.”

“What-” Evan started.

“You’re a hero,” Jared chuckled. “A freaking stupid hero, but still. People are talking about you. You’re all over the internet.”

Evan blinked at his mother. That explained why she still hadn’t returned his phone.

“People are already talking about making you Prom King.”

Evan felt lightheaded when he heard that. “But I’m not running. I don’t-I don’t even think I’m going to prom.”

“They’ll write you in. Never underestimate the hero vote.” Jared’s grin widened as a thought popped into his head. “Oh, this is too perfect. I can’t believe I... Connor was Homecoming King. You’re going to be Prom King. You guys are, like, the weirdest-”

Jared bit his lip when he caught Heidi’s eye. “-most adorable couple ever. Precious, really. Precious.”

Heidi stepped forward to put a hand on Evan’s shoulder. “All right, well, on that note, I think I should take Evan inside and help him get settled. Thanks for stopping by, Jared.”

Jared nodded solemnly. His bravado seemed to have vanished. “I just, uh... I wanted to make sure... to see...”

Heidi smiled knowingly. “I know. Your mom said you were-”

Jared pulled himself up to his full height and shook his shoulders. “Okay, so, I’m going to go.”

He paused when he reached the bottom of the stairs. “I’m glad you’re okay. That was, uh... You know. One of the most terrifying things I’ve ever heard and... I’m glad you’re okay.”

He lowered his head as he shuffled down the walk to his car.

“There are pictures of him showing up at the precinct last night,” Heidi said as she opened the door.

“He went down there?”

“With his parents. They didn’t even bother getting dressed. Eileen is so embarrassed. She called me earlier. She can’t believe Jared made them rush out of the house like that.”

Heidi squeezed Evan’s shoulder. “People were really worried about you last night.”

“I’m sorry,” Evan mumbled.

“I should’ve kept you in the loop,” Heidi sighed. “If I’d told you what was going on...”

“Kelsey and I still would’ve gone back to the house. I still would’ve found the flash drive. Nothing would’ve changed.”

Heidi shook her head. “I’m thinking about having a tracking device put in your mouth whenever you get your wisdom teeth removed.”

Evan snorted. After the night they’d had, he couldn’t blame her.

In fact, at that moment, he would’ve willingly signed a form giving the doctor permission to implant the chip.

 

It was dark outside when Evan woke up. He blinked at the ceiling and yawned as he tried to pull himself up. He winced when he put too much weight on his left arm.

The mattress shifted next to him. He blinked as he reached over to turn the light on.

“Here,” Connor said. He had a glass of water in one hand and a bottle of pills in the other. “Your mom said to make you take one when you woke up.”

Evan silently obeyed. He downed the entire glass. His throat felt like it was coated in sandpaper. He cleared it and looked around. “Where is she?”

“She had to go down to the station for a bit. She asked me to come stay with you.”

“She asked you to come babysit me?”

“She didn’t want you to be alone when you woke up.”

Evan propped himself up and studied Connor. He observed the way Connor was staring at the floor, the way he kept squeezing the comforter. He didn’t think he was being paranoid. Something was bothering Connor. He was definitely on edge about something.

“What’s wrong?” 

Connor looked up long enough to raise his eyebrows at him. “You’re asking me what’s wrong?”

“Something’s bothering you.”

“You...” Connor sat up straight and stared at him. “My uncle tried to kill you.”

Evan nodded slowly. “I know... I was there.”

“He killed Joey,” Connor sputtered. “I can’t believe he... All this time. He knew what he did all this time and he...”

Evan didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Connor scoffed. He chuckled disbelievingly. “Why are you sorry? Sorry you met us? Sorry you were friends with Joey? Sorry you got in a car with my crazy-”

“Hey!” Evan interrupted sharply. He took a breath and squeezed Connor’s hand. “It’s not your fault.”

“My uncle-”

“You can’t help being related to him. You don’t have any control over that. You can’t control who you’re related to or what they choose to do. I mean, look at my family. My mom has this cousin who catches sewer rats and turns them into the most disgusting art pieces you’ll ever see.”

Connor stared at him like he’d lost his mind. “Right. Because that’s basically the same as committing murder.”

“Basically,” Evan smiled. “I’d argue that that visit was even more traumatic than last night. I was nine when we went to see Polly. It’s a wonder I don’t have a major rat phobia now.”

Connor tilted to his head to look at him. “Did it turn you off trees?”

“What?”

“Crashing into one?”

Evan shook his head. “The trees protected me.”

“Oh my God,” Connor laughed.

Evan grinned when he saw that Connor was laughing. “They did! They hid me until help arrived.”

Connor didn’t say anything for a moment. He bit his lip when he looked up again. “You really scared a lot of people.”

“So I’ve been told.”

Connor glared at his hands. “You scared me.”

Evan lowered his eyes. He’d suspected that already, but hearing it made him feel even worse. “I’m sorry.”

Connor shook his head. “I was with your mom when Kelsey’s call came in. The sheriff tried to make her stay behind. She followed him into his office for, like, a minute and then he came out and announced that he was allowing a civilian consultant to go with them.”

“I’m surprised he even bothered trying. Formalities, I guess.”

Connor suddenly narrowed his eyes. “How did you not notice that Kevin was in your car?”

“Do you always check your backseat?”

Connor wrinkled his nose. “I will now.”

Evan nodded smugly. “My point exactly.”

He glanced at Connor curiously. “So, how much have you heard?”

“About what happened?”

“Jared said the story’s out there, but what does that actually mean?”

Connor shrugged. “I haven’t read any of the articles yet. I was at the station all night, so we heard bits and pieces there. After Kelsey called, it was like they forgot about us. Zoe and I sat in the lobby for hours before anyone bothered telling our parents we could go home.”

Connor glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “Zoe called Jared her boyfriend.”

Evan forced his face to stay blank. He didn’t feel the need to react, but knowing that Connor was looking for a reaction made his face want to twitch. 

“He came to the station with his parents,” Connor continued.

“They were all in their pajamas,” Evan grinned. “I heard.”

“Kelsey had shown up by that point. She was a mess. She kept pacing all over the place and alternating between laughing and crying and shaking like a leaf. She took one look at Jared’s pajamas and started laughing hysterically.”

“Which pajamas?” 

“They had Stormtroopers on them,” Connor laughed. “Zoe thought they were cute.”

Evan’s eyes widened at that. “She did?”

“I think so. She got mad at Kelsey and told her to stop making fun of her boyfriend.”

“I’m surprised Jared didn’t gloat about that when he was here earlier.” 

Connor was studying him again. Evan pulled himself up to meet his stare. “It doesn’t bother me.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive.”

“It’s a big step for them though, isn’t it?” Connor muttered. “Labeling what they are. They haven’t been going out that long. That doesn’t bother...”

Connor stopped speaking when he saw the way Evan was watching him. “What?”

Evan tapped his chin. “Are you trying to work up the nerve to ask me if you’re my boyfriend?”

Connor didn’t say anything. His silence told Evan everything he needed to know.

Evan bumped their shoulders together. “You are if I am.”

Connor squeezed Evan’s hand and nodded. The smile on his face was contagious.

 

He dreamt about Joey that night.

They were sitting on the swings at their old elementary school.

Which was actually kind of weird because they hadn’t been friends when they went there. Evan had never even gone on the swings as a kid. He’d been too scared to go near them. They were always crowded. Always. There were always kids on them, pushing each other and challenging each other and demanding their turns.

They were the only ones on the swings at that moment though. Evan tilted his head to bask in the sun and asked, “Is this heaven?”

“You think heaven’s a playground? An actual playground?”

“I don’t know,” Evan shrugged. “I’ve never really thought about it.”

“This isn’t heaven,” Joey said.

“Okay,” Evan nodded. He lowered his head when he sensed Joey watching him. “What?”

“So,” Joey grinned. “You and Connor?”

Evan twisted the swing around so that he wasn’t facing Joey anymore. “Yeah...”

“I knew it! Tell Zoe she can leave the money on my grave.”

Evan nearly fell off the swing as he spun back around. “What?”

“We made a bet last year.”

“About Connor and me?”

“Okay, technically, we bet about whether or not you and Connor would become friends if you were ever in the same room while he was sober, but...” Joey wrinkled his nose. “Forget it. Zoe’s a stickler when it comes to these things. She’ll say it doesn’t count since I didn’t predict you’d become more than friends.”

Evan stared at his hands while Joey started pumping his legs. He looked up long enough to see the way the sun was dancing across Joey’s face as he soared higher and higher.

“I’m sorry,” Evan mumbled.

“For what?” 

“You’re dead.” Evan breathed in shakily. “That’s never going to change.”

“You expected it to change? Aren’t you the science whiz? You know how these things work.”

“I know, but-”

Joey lifted one hand up to stroke an imaginary beard. “Do not pity the dead, Evan. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.”

Evan snorted and shook his head. He looked up to see Joey watching him impatiently.

“Ugh, fine...” Evan sighed. “Is this real? Or is it just happening inside my head?”

Joey grinned triumphantly. “Of course it is happening inside your head, Evan, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Joey laughed as he twisted himself around. “There’s something for you and Connor to debate. Albus Dumbledore – altruistic genius or manipulative old bastard?”

Evan smiled to himself. “A bit of both, I think.”

His eyes widened when he saw how high Joey was getting. “You’re going to go over the top!”

“What’s the worst that can happen?” Joey cackled. “I’ll die again? You should come up here. The view is...”

Evan blinked as the sun began to set. It was like it was melting in the sky, flooding the ground with light. He could barely see Joey as he squinted up at him.

“Don’t forget about me, okay?” Joey called.

Evan opened his mouth to respond, but it was too late. He watched as Joey jumped off the swing and sailed through the air.

He was gone before he hit the ground. Swallowed up by the setting sun.

Evan closed his eyes and whispered, “I could never.”


	32. Chapter 32

Kevin confessed to killing Joey. Evan was relieved when he heard that because it was pretty touch and go there for a while. He spent his week at home resting and sleeping and panicking every time his mother returned from the station with the latest rumor.

First up was the self-defense claim.

Which was so ridiculous that Evan couldn’t take it seriously at all. He couldn’t imagine a jury taking it seriously either. Anyone with half a brain would look at a picture of Joey next to Kevin and know there was no way he could’ve threatened him. 

Physically threatened him that was. Even if you didn’t know that Joey wouldn’t have hurt a fly, it was easy to see that Kevin was at least four inches taller and significantly more muscular. 

That rumor disappeared almost as quickly as it began. Evan would have been glad except the one that replaced it was so much worse.

He knew something was wrong when he saw the way his mother’s jaw was set. His stomach dropped when she told him to sit down.

There were rumors circulating that Kevin was going to use mental health issues as part of his defense. Not his own issues. Not exactly.

He was going to claim that Josh’s gambling addiction, his drug problems, his womanizing ways were proof that those things ran in their family. He was going to use them to make the case as murky as possible.

He was going to bring Connor into it. He was going to bring Connor’s issues into it as further proof. He was going to allude to the idea that Connor’s parents knew he was the one to pay off Ricky Donahoe. That they had turned a blind eye to it because they were worried that Connor had killed his brother in a fit of rage.

He was going to use Evan’s anxiety, his years of therapy, to show that Evan had blown the whole incident in the car out of proportion. That he’d panicked unnecessarily and misinterpreted what was happening. 

The thought of that made Evan feel sick. The thought of having to testify, of having to take the stand and tell his story to a packed courtroom, was terrifying enough without having to worry about people judging him for things he couldn’t control.

He was glad when his mother told him that tactic was being dropped. He was relieved when he realized that Connor hadn’t heard about it at all. He hoped it would stay that way.

He hoped Kevin wouldn’t change his mind about pleading guilty.

He wondered what had made Kevin do that until Connor came over and told him.

Kelsey and Josh had gotten to their father. Connor didn’t know exactly what had happened, just that they’d sat down with Kevin for a few minutes and he’d changed his whole strategy by the time they left.

Murphy Tech released a statement the next day. It was one of those specifically vague statements that said everything and nothing at the same time. The company separated itself from its CEO and founder and assured the public that Murphy Tech was still working to better the world. It stressed the importance of taking responsibility for one’s actions. It stressed the importance of family and offered its deepest sympathies to the entire Murphy family as they struggled to get through this trying time.

Josh was disappointed when he was not immediately picked to be the new CEO. Connor seemed to find that hysterical. 

Kelsey was okay with it. More than okay with it. She hadn’t expected to be given a place at the company and it was easy to see she was kind of thrilled that her brother had been left out. She told everyone her time would come. Not at Murphy Tech though. She wanted to start her own company someday. 

Kelsey seemed to be holding up okay, all things considered. Once things settled down a bit, she announced that she was going to go live with her mother’s parents in Wisconsin, but Connor talked her out of it. Evan tried not to feel too smug when Connor told him that he’d told Kelsey that she shouldn’t leave because she felt guilty about what her father had done. She couldn’t help who her father was and she definitely had no control over what he chose to do.

Josh was clearly having a harder time with everything than his sister was. He announced that he was changing his major to Psychology because he wanted to understand how people think. Then he decided that was going to drop out of school and become a professional surfer. He only stuck with that idea for a few hours before he decided that he was going to stay in school and become a lawyer in case anyone else in his family committed murder.

Kelsey was clearly horrified when he told her not to worry about becoming an emancipated minor because he was going to make sure he got custody of her. Luckily for Kelsey, he seemed to forget that notion almost as quickly as it had occurred to him.

Evan encouraged Connor to be there for Josh whenever he wanted to talk. Not because he deserved it, but because it’s what Joey would’ve done. Joey would’ve seen how hard this was for Josh and tried to make it easier. He would’ve been there for Josh without expecting anything in return, without expecting Josh to change who he was.

He would’ve been there for him because it was the right thing to do and because Joey lived his life believing that you should always try to be the change you want to see in the world.

 

Evan didn’t dread going back to school until his mother handed him a marker.

His face scrunched up as he studied it. “What’s this for?”

“So people can sign your cast,” Heidi beamed.

Evan glanced at Connor helplessly. “I really don’t think that’s necessary.”

“The way Jared describes it, they’re going to be lining up to see you.”

Evan glanced at Connor again. “That’s not true, is it?”

Connor rolled his eyes and held out his hand. “Here.”

Evan blinked as Connor grabbed his arm and began to write. He laughed when he saw how Connor was writing his name.

“What-”

“There,” Connor grinned. “That should limit the number of people who can sign it.” He frowned as he lifted Evan’s arm. “Do you want me to put my last name on the back?”

Heidi shook her head at them. “Come on. Give the other kids a chance. They might surprise you.”

Evan decided he wasn’t in the mood to argue with her. “We should go.”

Heidi put her coffee down and studied him. “Call me if you don’t feel well.”

“I will,” Evan promised.

“I’m serious, Evan. If you feel dizzy or light-headed or anything starts to hurt again, go to the nurse and tell her you need to go home.”

Evan gave her a weak smile before following Connor to his car. He tilted his head when Connor suddenly froze. “What’s wrong?”

Connor sighed and checked his phone. “Jared’s on standby to come get you if...”

“If what?” Evan looked around uncertainly. 

“It might be better for you to ride with him this week.”

“Why?” Evan laughed. “The only good thing about having my car in the shop for the foreseeable future is that it means you have to-”

“People know.”

“People know what?”

“About us,” Connor huffed. “Gavin was at the station that night. I didn’t see him, but apparently he was brought in for driving under the influence and...”

Evan narrowed his eyes when Connor didn’t continue. “And what?”

“He saw me,” Connor said stiffly. “He saw how I reacted every time someone gave us an update about what was happening to you.”

“Oh,” Evan whispered. “So-”

“People know.”

“Okay,” Evan shrugged. “So, people know.”

“You’re okay with that?”

“Yeah... Are you?”

“I don’t give a crap what people say about me.”

“Okay,” Evan nodded. He reached for the door handle. “Are you going to unlock the car or...”

Connor quickly hit the button.

Evan bit his lip as he fastened his seatbelt. “There is one thing though.”

Connor’s eyes widened as he looked at him. “One thing you’re worried about?”

Evan scratched his neck and stared straight ahead. “They aren’t really talking about making me Prom King, are they?”

 

Life went back to normal for Evan. Sort of. 

It slowly, but surely, went back to something that almost resembled normal.

There were changes, of course. His relationship with Connor was a big one. An important one. A good one. Definitely a good one. Almost always a good one. It was new and different and something that kept him on his toes as they navigated the ups and downs and figured things out.

School was different too. Easier in a lot of ways. Not because his teachers were going easier on him though. No matter what Jared said, he didn’t think that was the case. He thought it was simply a case of his classes winding down and his teachers suffering from their own versions of senioritis.

Work was busy. His mother’s caseload grew to a point where she could barely keep up with it. In a lot of ways, she was vindicated when it turned out that Kevin Murphy had killed his nephew. It showed that she hadn’t been the bumbling idiot the press had tried to make her out to be. Her instincts had been right when she chose to focus on the family. She just should’ve looked beyond Joey’s core unit.

So many people started seeking her out that she had to start referring clients to Geoff Heffelfinger. Evan wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He wasn’t even sure if it was something he had to have an opinion about.

Luckily, or unluckily, he had other things to occupy his mind. One of those things was the fact that his popularity increased as well. 

Popularity wasn’t the right word for it. He didn’t think that the classmates fawning over him actually liked him. Not the real him. Definitely not the real him.

They were fascinated by the story and they wanted in. They wanted to be there, hovering in the background as the reporters tried to interview him. They wanted to be able to claim that why yes, they were really good friends with the guy who’d helped bring Kevin Murphy to justice.

Evan tried his best to ignore them. He kept his head down and stuck with the people who knew him, the real him. The ones who would stick around when everyone else moved on to the next media obsession. 

 

He didn’t become Prom King. He didn’t even go to prom. He didn’t even think about going to prom. Not seriously anyway.

He went to Connor’s aunt’s wedding instead.

It wasn’t just a coincidence that Jamie decided to get married on the same day as the Saturn High prom. She purposely picked that date when she heard that Connor and Zoe didn’t want to go. She said she knew what it was like to have a mother who tried to force you to do things you didn’t want to do.

Of course, she denied that every time her sister asked. She insisted that that just happened to be the date that worked out for everyone involved.

Evan didn’t mind skipping prom. Not even a little bit. 

The wedding was small, at least by the Murphys’ standards, and significantly less stressful than prom would have been.

It was actually a fun night, a funny one even. Evan and Connor both found it hilarious when Jared ran up to them and panicked about the fact that Zoe had just told her aunt that she was claiming the name ‘Joey’ for her future son.

 

Jamie’s wedding was the only one Evan had to go to that spring. 

Henry and Sophie called off their wedding three times before finally deciding to elope. Jared sounded positively giddy when he called Evan to tell him the news.

“We’re off the hook,” Jare cackled. “They went to Vegas. They actually went to Vegas. I can’t believe they went to Vegas. I mean, seriously, how can they afford...”

Evan braced himself when he heard Jared drop the phone and let out a stream of curses.

It didn’t take long for him to figure out that Henry had left his brother an IOU note in the tin can under Jared’s bed.

 

Zoe decided to put her singing career on hold for a while. She was starting to feel like her heart was no longer in it. She was also getting tired of dealing with the suggestions from her label. They were dying to cash in on the Kevin Murphy scandal before the public lost interest in it. They wanted her to write songs about how it felt to know that her uncle had killed her brother. She tried to humor them for a bit, but she finally drew the line when they asked her to write about how it felt to see her brother date her ex-boyfriend.

She insisted it was for the best. She’d been planning to go to college anyway and it was starting to occur to her that she wanted that to be her main focus. 

She was going to the same school as Evan, Connor, and Jared. 

That was bittersweet for Evan. On the one hand, it was kind of awesome to know that he’d be starting college with his boyfriend and two real, live, actual friends.

On the other hand, Joey wasn’t one of those friends. 

He didn’t know if that thought would ever stop popping into his head.

 

His father flew down for his graduation. That was both surprising and not surprising.

His father had been in touch a lot since the incident with Kevin. He’d actually Skyped with the mechanic working on Evan’s car at least a dozen times before deciding it would be easier if he came down and checked it out for himself.

Evan knew he should be happy to have his father there, but he couldn’t help worrying during the ceremony. He kept looking over his shoulder to see if there were any obvious signs that his parents were having it out wherever they were sitting.

It got to the point where Alana stopped him after the ceremony to ask if he’d developed a neck spasm after his car accident. Evan thanked her for her concern and hurried away before she could ask any more questions.

His parents were calmly standing together when he caught up with them. They weren’t talking to each other, but they weren’t at each other’s throats either. That was the best graduation present Evan could possibly imagine.

 

The office was filled with people. Evan didn’t think they’d ever had so many people in there before. His mother, Connor, Jared, Zoe, Kelsey, Geoff Heffelfinger...

And yet Evan was the only person working.

He couldn’t blame his mother. Partially because he knew she was wrapped up in her conversation with Geoff. Mostly because he wouldn’t dare.

He shook his head as he listened to their argument.

“I’m just saying,” Geoff grinned. “I think we could solve more cases if we combined our agencies.”

“You’re just scared I’m going to solve the Peabody case before you,” Heidi smirked.

“I have a lead. Do you-”

“Maria Anderson? I’ve already talked to her.”

Evan shook his head again when he caught Connor watching him. 

Okay, he couldn’t really blame Connor for not working either. Kelsey had taken over his computer to install a facial recognition program she’d developed. 

From the sounds of it, there were more kinks for Kelsey to work out than she had initially thought.

He was definitely blaming Zoe and Jared for being lazy though. He didn’t even know why they were there unless it was to distract everyone else.

He’d tried telling them that they should do some filing if they were going to hang out in the office, but they’d just laughed and gone back to watching cat videos on Zoe’s phone.

Evan glanced up from his spreadsheet just in time to see his mother give Geoff a peck on the cheek. It was a very G-rated peck, but it was enough to make Evan blush.

He looked up again when Connor came over to lean against his desk.

“You don’t approve?”

Evan shrugged. He watched his mother and Geoff silently slip into her office. “He seems nice... I guess.”

“If they decide to join forces, are we going to rename the business Hansen-Heffelfinger Investigations? That’s a mouthful.”

Evan’s nose scrunched up at the thought. “I’ll talk to her. Maybe we can go by Double-H?” Evan blinked and shook his head. “That sounds like a hemorrhoid cream, doesn’t it?”

“You would know,” Jared called from across the room. He chuckled savagely until Zoe elbowed him in the ribs.

“Ignore him,” Connor whispered.

Evan rolled his eyes. “I try.”

He straightened himself up and spun around to face his desk. 

Someone was calling them. He answered it on the first ring.

“Hansen Investigations, this is Evan speaking. How can we help you today?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, a huge, huge thank you to everyone who has been reading this. All of your comments and kudos are truly, greatly appreciated. It's always awesome to see that people are actually reading the things I post. 
> 
> I’m not planning to write a traditional sequel to this (I’m not going to borrow any other mysteries from _Veronica Mars._ I don’t feel the need to write about a bus crash, a pedophile, or a serial rapist.), but I have already started a story collection that will probably pop up here soon. It’ll feature things that take place before, during, and after this story. There will most likely be a lot of during scenes since I decided to focus on Evan from start to finish instead of switching from character to character. In my mind, some of the characters had whole plotlines going on that Evan was only vaguely aware of, so the stories will fill in some of those gaps.


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